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Heavenly Hay

"The Lord is my Shepherd, I lack nothing.  He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul."  

Delightful bites from the Word of God.

Eager Watching

11/2/2019

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Are you living in a desperate situation that never resolves, no matter what you do? You've tried absolutely everything humanly possible. You tried everything within your power and the power of others you've enlisted in the stuggle. You've wasted hours and hours looking for a solution like a squirrel looking for a nut to bury for the winter stockpile. You've cried oceans of tears. You've thought and thought and thought trying to figure it out but your thoughts only fall over each other and you end up in a heap on your face. You've begged, pleaded, bargained, and bribed. You've bent and twisted, almost to the point of compromise, or perhaps into compromise. You've been beyond desperate and back again. And still the answer doesn't come. In fact, the situation seems to be getting worse.  And of course, you've prayed and prayed and prayed, hitting it from every angle with what you hope will be the key to unlock the mystery that will bring the situation to a God glorifying, pain stopping end.

Every morning when you wake up, you immediately feel the stress and gravity of the situation assaulting your mind and twisting your already anxious, bruised heart. You arise to face the day with a two ton weight in your chest. By evening, after a day of ardent, constant battle, you are totally exhausted but sleep won't come and you toss and turn and wrestle through the night, reminding the Lord that you need to sleep if you want to face tomorrow in strength. You remind Him again of the situation that continues seemingly unnoticed by His all seeing eye. 

Eventually, when the only words you have left to say to anyone are, "I'm so tired", you come to realize that you can't fix it. You need a miracle. It seems that you're back to square one. All the work you've done so far seems to mean nothing. You acknowledge to yourself and God that HE is the only answer. If He, and only He, doesn't intervene, it will end in disaster and life altering heartache. It's at this point that you take one last look making sure that there isn't one more thing you can try and you throw it up in the air and say to God, here, take it. I put it in your capable, loving hands. 

This process can take days, weeks, or if you're anything like me, years. You reason that surely a mature Christian should be able to unravel this riddle and bring the right answer to light. After all, faith perseveres, right?

In the morning, O Lord, You will hear my voice;
In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch. Ps. 5:3

Herein lies our answer and our victory. Each morning, you wake and immediately say to God, Here it is. I put it in your loving, capable hands." 

Lysa Turkerust wrote a similar prayer that I like better. 
"Lord, I need Your peace. That's why I'm handing this entire situation over to You. Humble me. Keep me from being wise in my own eyes. Show me what steps to take. And help me to trust You with this every.single.day. In Jesus' Name, Amen. 

After you pray this prayer, you watch. Watch for what? Watch to know that God is working in your situation.

This can come in many ways. It may be a word spoken to you. It may be a verse that jumps off His Word and slaps you in the face and says THIS is your word for today. It may be confirmation from another who "happened" to pray the same exact prayer on the same exact day as you without any communication between the two of you. Or it may just be that you know that when you pray to Him, God hears and if God hears, He answers. 

Be warned! Progress is not evidence or lack of evidence that God is working. It is so easy to see progress and shift our faith from God to the progress. Desperate situations are very fluid. They ebb and flow. The move forward and slip back. Putting your faith in progress will take your emotions all over the map and your faith will waver. Our faith must remain in one that we are trusting in for a miracle. He's the one who knows things that we do not know. He understands how things need to work. They may look worse before they get better and we must remember that night is darkest right before the dawn. But we must never lose hope. We must learn to let go without giving up. 

When this is your everyday, you can experience increased peace, joy and hope every morning as you pray this simple prayer. Can you just put it in God's hands and just forget about it the rest of the day? Rarely, if you are me, but I am leanring to find the balance between that and spending my days in anxiety and frantic praying. When the situation comes to mind, I simply remember that God took that from me first thing in the morning and that His hands are working on it and I can worship and thank Him for the resolution. I know where I am. I know where He's promised to take me. What I don't know is what lies inbetween those two points, but He does and He will walk with me every step of the way. In that, I have peace because I know that my Father can do anything and He will, just because I am eagerly waiting for Him to delight me by answering my request. 
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New Beginnings

8/1/2019

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It was beautiful weather for a walk this morning. The clouds overhead provided a cool canopy as I got underway down the trail. I started out gingerly as my muscles screamed from yesterday’s squats and leg presses but I soon forgot about my legs as a chorus of song birds distracted me. One bird seemed to be telling me to  “walk down, walk back”, which is what I do each morning in my 3+ mile jaunt. Admittedly, the first few minutes of every morning, I am captivated by the beauty of the trees, vegetation, and the smell of the woods, water, and flowering plants that line the path. Soon though, my thoughts rise from the splendor of creation to thoughts of the creator that made it all. 

I’ve been praying about a situation that weighs heavy in my life. As I prayed, I asked God for a new beginning. Immediately my mind went to Genesis 1:1. “In the beginning”, the very beginning of time but not the beginning of God, He created the heavens and the earth. I thought of the sun. God spoke and the sun was created. I thought of the power of the sun and of how long the sun has burned without going out. I considered the force of it brightness and its consuming heat. That ball of continual, fiery, energy with its searing power came into being by one word spoken from God’s mouth. That’s power! “In the beginning”, God spoke and a force as potent and violent as the sun was created...out of nothing but a word. I marveled at the power that has to be present for something like that to happen and realized it can be found in the voice of God when He speaks just one word.

This is the same God who walks with me everyday, who put His Spirit inside of me, and who cares about every minute detail of my life. He is the captain of my life. He is the same God who chose a new beginning for mankind when He instructed Noah to build an ark and Moses to cross the Red Sea. This God is the one who redeemed Israel over and over again as He continually called them back to Himself. He is the same God that gave the Apostle Paul a new beginning and used him to change the world. He is the same God that redeemed Peter back to himself so that he could begin again to declare that Jesus saves! He is the same God that redeemed mankind by sacrificing His own Son that I might have a way to communicate and fellowship with Him. That’s powerful!  As I pondered this, another bird call rang out and it seemed to be saying “I need Him, I need Him” and I joined in his chorus and began to tell God, “I need you, I need you!” I need a new beginning. I am desperate for a new beginning, and as I did this, I felt His powerful peace wash over my heart just as the water rushes over the rocks when it makes its way downstream. I pictured in my mind’s eye God taking my burden and carrying it away downstream to a place where it will never return. What comfort I gain from putting my burdens in God’s hands and watching what He creates from them. He is a God of new beginnings. He always has been. He always will be. 

I thought of my daughter. That girl was born with more spunk than most and she was a huge hand full during her toddler years. While my  three babies slept in the afternoon, I would lie on my bed and cry out to God, asking Him what to do to harness this young lioness He had given me. Often I would tiptoe into her room and lay my hands on her and pray because quite frankly, I was at my wit’s end with her. One day, I laid her down after a particularly difficult morning, laying my hands on her and asked God for what I thought would have to be a miracle in her life. When she woke up from her nap, she was an entirely different person and she continued to be an entirely different person from that day forward. When my parents came to visit, they noticed a profound change in her and asked, “Who is this child and what have you done with our granddaughter?” That is the power of God. He is still at work today creating new beginnings for those who look to Him, for those who need a miracle, for me and you.

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"Living Under The Gaze Of One"

3/26/2019

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Lydia Brownback has written some wonderful books. In her book "Flourish", she wrote a chapter entitled "Set Free From Self-consciousness". In it she says many profound things but in all of them she drives home the certainty we can live free ONLY if the center of our focus is Christ. You might be saying, "well, duh, that is a given", but she gets down to the nitty-gritty of what that really means.

She so eloquently brings out the point that to make Christ the center, He must be all there is. We are dead in Christ and only He lives. She calls it the "Freedom of self-forgetfulness". She says "When we are driven by a concern for how people perceive Christ, we can live free from the bondage of what people think of us." You see, "Jesus won us freedom from ourselves!" That's good news!

Self-consciousness is a prison that we make for ourselves. It compares us to others. It makes us feel the need to be spiritual enough, pretty enough, fit enough, talented enough, successful enough, to be good enough parents, to have a certain type of house, car, purse, clothing or standard of living, to act a certain way depending on whose presence we happen to be in, to be cool enough to fit in at the cocktail parties of our colleagues YET spiritual enough to fit into the prayer meeting at church without compromising our beliefs or tarnishing our reputation or witness, to be the kind of person that people look at and see the value just oozing off of us. The problem is, we don't see any value in ourselves unless validated by other people, a slippery slope that only leads to pressure and anxiety and a constant state of unrest in our souls. We decide what we wear, how we look, where we go, what we do and how we do it by comparing ourselves to our family, friends, neighbors, and culture much more than we realize. In essence, we make decisions based on what they will think of us. 

Now you can take that too far as well in having an I-don't-care-what-ANYONE-thinks kind of attitude as well, which for the most part, is self-consciousness hiding behind a defensive shield.

I read so many profiles on facebook that have statements that talk about how Christ has made us valuable and that is where our self-esteem comes from, but that still puts the focus on us trying to convince others that we matter. The fact is, we are not valuable in any way. Christ is valuable and the fact that we are in Him does not make us valuable. It makes us blessed, mercifully and compassionately blessed. We can't enhance or increase His value. We can only let that value the is HIM shine though us as we take Him everywhere we go. 

Lydia says "Happiness comes from not being well thought of but by thinking less of ourselves altogether. Fear of man is craving to please ourselves,; we want people to admire us so we can feel valuable and important. But God is the one whose value and importance we are called to showcase." Oh, I love that! 

We must, as she says, "live under the gaze of one", but oh, who that one is! For me, that just makes it simple. There is such freedom in living dead! 

Tim Keller calls this "gospel-humility." He says "The essence of gospel-humility is not thinking more of myself or thinking less of myself, it is thinking of myself less. Gospel-humilty is not needing to think about myself...True gospel-humility means I stop connecting every experience, every conversation, with myself. In fact, I stop thinking about myself."

And what is the result? Oh, this is so good! "As we trust, we stop viewing others as a measure of ourselves but as people to love. We stop using them and start serving them. We are meant to focus on others, just not with ourselves as the reference point."

As I thought about my own life, my social media presence, our ministry, my life as a parent and as a friend, I was challenged, disappointed and encouraged all at the same time. Although there are many things I would have and will endeavor to do differently in the future, I was struck by the simplicity/complexity of the solution. The answer is so simple yet as a human, so complex because it involves just giving it all up and laying it all down on a daily basis-from one FaceBook post to the next, from one conversation to the next, from one purchase decision to the next, from one thought to the next, from one confession/declaration to the next, from one minute to the next. We are constantly bombarded by things in media, the workplace, the neighborhood and yes, sadly, even the church, that make us stop and take a look at us when all we really need to do is look at HIM! 

I found this so convicting, so helpful, and so freeing today that I just had to share it. 



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The More You Know

10/25/2018

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For the past 3 years, I have spent my lunch hour at a small stretch of creek that runs through Happy Valley. Weather and wardrobe permitting, I stroll along the same path that runs between the creek and the marsh. I cross the same two footbridges and walk beneath the same tree that has fallen into the crook of another tree on the other side of the path, forming a mystical looking arch. I stop to sit on the same rocks that give me close access to where the water rushes against the rocks and shoots bubbly spray into the air as it falls to the other side. To me, the sound of the water is like heavenly music. I don't think its any accident that there is a river running right through the middle of heaven in the book of Revelation. I have no Biblical basis to say this, but when I picture heaven in my mind, I imagine that the water there will sing, just as I believe it does here on earth. 

You would think that after all these years, I would grow tired of this place, but I don't. You see, I've learned that this place is teeming with life and although much of it might look the same from day to day, there is always something new or different that I see when I go there. 

I might see the muskrat grabbing plants from the water for a noonday snack, or a hummingbird snatching fluff from last years cattails, or a water snake slithering by my feet as it works it's ways downstream. In the spring, it's whatever wild flower has chosen to bloom that wasn't blooming yesterday and in the fall it's the migration of the birds that brings uncommon visitors to the water's edge. In the dead of winter, it is paw prints in the snow that tell me who was there during the night.  With all this activity, it is definitely worth all the re-visits that I make.

Often when I come, I sit within the sound of the water and read God's Word. Just like the creek, His Word is alive and active. No matter how many times I read it, there are always new things that I see. Verses jump off the page as the Lord ministers to my heart in a new and fresh way. Sometimes it is for my comfort and encouragement. Other times for correction and guidance but every time, it thrills me to hear the voice of God speaking right to my heart. Just as the creek is a daily habit because I love it and I feel as if I've missed out if I don't go, so God's Word is even more my daily habit and one that I not only love and enjoy, but that I need if I want to live a peace- filled life. And like the creek, the more time I spend in His Word, the more I want to spend time in His Word. 

Some people see the Bible as a novel-when you've read it, you read it. From time to time they go back and read their favorite parts. Others think that they have understood and gleaned all they can from it or that it's just too hard to understand at all. That is because they have not really understood that it contains more than just words. It IS life to the heart, soul and spirit. As we interact with the Word, God interacts with us.

If we say that we love Jesus but the Word does not interest us, we lie to ourselves. You see, it clearly states that Jesus and the Word are one. To interact with the Word of God is to interact with Jesus. To know the Word is to know God's heart and to discern God's will. It is like the creek. It looks the same on the surface, but if you take the time to study it, you will find that it will speak to you in so many different ways. 

It is our daily bread. We need to eat every day or we will become emaciated and weak. Then we become prey for the enemy. None of us find eating a chore or a burden. Reading and praying is not a burden for the person who truly loves the Lord. It is like sitting down to a good meal and eating until we are stuffed. The more that we allow God to speak to us, the closer we grow in our relationship with Him. There is no greater joy!


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Daddy, Please Comfort Me

3/24/2018

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2 Corinthians 1:3-4
As I sat in my car reading on my lunch hour last Tuesday, these verses jumped out at me. A few days before, I had re-read a few chapters of The Kingdom Belongs to Little Children by Barry Adams. In his chapter on comfort he said something so true. He said "as they (children) get older, their need for comfort doesn't change, but their pursuit of it does). How much more true this is of adults. 

As small children we naturally run to our parents for comfort-a place of security and assurance that everything will work out. As adults, our culture tells us to buck up, be tough and just bear it. The Christian world tells us that to need comfort is lack of faith. Seeking true comfort is discouraged because it requires vulnerability and is seen as weakness. That doesn't change our need of it. So, we end up seeking comfort outside of true comfort and think it will be found in stuff, the refrigerator, a bottle, money, position and other worldly pleasures. 

True comfort can still be found in our parent, Father God. As Mr. Adams says, "when we are aware of our need for comfort, we are more likely to position our hearts to receive it in the times we need it." 

So often we go to God with our Bible verses, our faith talk, and our knowledge of His ways thinking that He will be so impressed that the result will be peace. And yet, peace is fleeting, and we wonder what went wrong. I think that very often what we need to do instead is to run to God and fall into His lap and tell Him that we just need His comfort. We need for Him to hold us and tell us that everything is going to be alright. Then we can stand in faith with his Word and know that all will be well. In her song “Cling”, Shannon Wexelberg sings “with your arms around me, your peace surrounds me. And may it only be You, I cling to.” This is the picture that comes to my mind when I think of the comfort of God. I see myself as a little child hugging the neck of my father and laying my head on his shoulder as he gently strokes my hair and assures me that everything will be alright.
As the verse says, He is the "Father of all mercies and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God."

He is merciful and the God of all comfort. He gives mercy and comfort to us as a Father gives mercy and comfort to His children when they are in distress.

I used to look at my troubles as means to gain experience so that when I crossed paths with someone in the same situation, I would have a way to offer them comfort. I now see the danger of pride in this way of thinking. We have nothing to offer them except what God has given us. HE is the God of ALL comfort-every kind of comfort-who comforts us in our troubles. No matter what someone is suffering through, our experiential knowledge may help in a small, practical way but it will not offer true comfort. What will be true comfort to them is to assure them that God is the God of ALL comfort and that HE will comfort them just as He comforted us because He is the Father of all mercies and not a respecter of persons. 
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Do you have troubles? Do you need comfort? Go to God as a child goes to his parent when needing comfort and receive a true comfort that leads to deep, lasting peace. 
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Passed Over, Discarded, and Cast Aside

3/10/2018

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I got passed over for a promotion at work...again. I don't know why. It bothers me that I've gotten passed over twice now for a promotion. I have above average job reviews, I get along famously with all of my co-workers, I show up to work everyday and on time, I work hard and carry my load, but I still have not received a promotion.

When I realized that I had been passed over...again..the devil immediately tried to go to work in my mind. He started whispering things in my ears telling me that I never seem to measure up no matter how hard I try. It is true that if we look back over our lives, we will always remember times when we didn't measure up. I've had people in my life that no matter what I did or how well I did it, they always have some criticism about it. Instead of slapping me on the back and saying "good job!", they offer their opinions about how I did it, how I could have done it differently or better and how I missed some potential or opportunity, making me feel like I just didn't quite measure up. 

It is true that in life, at times, I have been cast aside and discarded by family, friends, employers and congregants. I've been taken for granted, taken advantage of, used, and unappreciated. The devil tried to create a slideshow in my mind of all those times. He told me, this is just one more time you didn't measure up, one more time you've failed, one more time that proves that you really don't matter. Just accept the fact that you're never going to be truly valuable or useful to anyone. You're never going to be special in any way. 

That lasted about as long as it took him to say it. I was ready for him this time.

You see, the last couple of years have taught me a most valuable lesson. God truly does see me and love me...just the way I am...with all my weakness, all my failures, even if no one else on this earth can find any value in me at all. And that's more than enough for me.

I love this song. It's been my reality. 

Reckless Love
Written by Cory Asbury, Caleb Culver, and Ran Jackson 

Verse 1
Before I spoke a word, You were singing over me
You have been so, so good to me
Before I took a breath, You breathed Your life in me
You have been so, so kind to me 

Chorus
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God
Oh, it chases me down, fights ‘til I’m found, leaves the ninety-nine
I couldn’t earn it, I don’t deserve it, still You give Yourself away
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God 

Verse 2
When I was Your foe, still Your love fought for me
You have been so, so good to me
When I felt no worth, You paid it all for me
You have been so, so kind to me 

Bridge
There’s no shadow You won’t light up
Mountain You won’t climb up
Coming after me
There’s no wall You won’t kick down
Lie You won’t tear down
Coming after me

Just as I was telling the devil how much God loves me, I glanced at the promise calendar sitting on my desk. It said:
 "When he speaks in the thunder, the heavens roar with rain. He causes the clouds to rise over the earth. He sends the lightning with the rain and releases the wind from his storehouses."That brought a smile to my face. You see, that same God that this passage is talking about is MY father. He is the lover of my soul. He is the one who knows if one of my hairs falls from my head. He treasures every prayer, listens to every thought, keeps every tear, and His good thoughts towards me are numbered more than the grains of sand in the sea. I am the apple of His eye. He delights and dances over me!

When He speaks, things happen. Because He controls the weather, because He tells the sun when to come up in the morning and when to set at night, because He so meticulously shepherds my life, then when it's time for promotion, there's not a demon in hell or a supervisor on earth that can stop it.  

Oh how wonderful to know that I am safe in His care. I am valued in His Kingdom. Nothing comes to me that doesn't pass through His hand or isn't part of His plan to give me an abundant, productive, successful, and joy filled life. I may not understand when hard times come, when rejection is my lot, or when it seems that I am no more than a whisper on this earth, but I do know that I need not fear, I need not feel ashamed, I need not feel passed over, discarded or cast aside because I am God's cherished child and He is thrilled with me. In the end, that is all that will matter anyway.
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In God's Footsteps

10/26/2017

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Psalm 77:19 (NASB)
19 Your way was in the sea
And Your paths in the mighty waters,
And Your footprints may not be known.
I love this verse.

Another version says:
“Your road led by a pathway through the sea – a pathway no one knew was there!” – Psalm 77:19

God has paths over and around every obstacle that we face. Some are clearly laid out for us but others have never been traveled by human experience.

When we have exhausted human wisdom, past experience, and Biblical knowledge, we can still know that there is a calm to any storm and a path through any obstacle that we may face. As the old gospel tune says:
I know the Lord will make a way for me. I know the Lord will make a way for me. If I live a holy life, Shun the wrong and do the right, I know the Lord will make a way for me.”
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There is no situation that is unfamiliar to God but in the absence of an obtainable solution, know that there is one. Even if we are the only ones that will ever need it, the Lord has made a way just for us!  Close your eyes, take God’s hand and experience the wonder of walking through to victory in the footsteps of God. 
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Watch Your Attitude

8/15/2017

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​Guard your steps as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know they are doing evil. 2 Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few.Ecclesiastes 5:1-2
A few weeks ago, our Pastor used this passage in a sermon on a Sunday morning. As I was reviewing my sermon notes, I re-read this passage and the Lord dropped some thoughts into my mind that I thought I would share.

It made me think about my expectations and actions in the house of God. I am a sanguine. I like to talk so these scriptures were especially applicable to me. I like to talk to God and do regularly but today I let Him talk and you know what I found? I found that when I shut up, He will actually say something! 

He said the following things to me as I read this passage. I think I've been guilty of almost all of them at some point in my life:

1) Don't be flippant with God. Don't use flippant words with God. How often do we come into the presence of God with a flippant attitude? Flippancy means we do not show a serious or respectful attitude.We forget about who He is. If we stay up til all hours of the morning on Saturday night because it's the weekend and then sleep through church, that's showing disrespect and flippant. If we take scripture and inject it into our conversations in a common way or quote it in a sarcastic way, that's flippancy. If we talk to God as if He's on our level and one of the gang, that's flippant and disrespectful. It's about the heart attitude. Whatever we say to God must be said with a reverent heart. We must remember who He is and who we are. Remember "He is in heaven and we are on the earth; therefore let our words be few." And I would add, let our attitudes be humble. 

2) Always speak faith filled words to God. Faith moves the heart of God and causes Him to listen. When we speak words that truly reflect who He is, what He has said, and what He will do, we will live the reality of those words here on earth. On the other hand, when we whine or rehearse our situation, as if He doesn't already know about it, this dishonors God and He will not answer. We don't need to explain anything to God, especially our situations or the reason we do things. He already knows. To retell it to Him is an insult. It's okay to let God know how you are feeling as long as you as you are well ready to admit that you are wrong when your feelings do not line up with His Word and to speak, by faith, His will into your situation and life. 

3) Don't question God. Don't accuse Him in any way. Instead question your knowledge of His will and ways and ask Him for wisdom and revelation. Whatever God does is always perfect. To question Him in an accusatory way is wrong. To question Him with the attitude of wanting to understand what He is doing is godly and productive. God doesn't cause evil but sometimes He has to allow it.

4) Don't get angry with God. That is sin. Scripture clearly tells us to "be angry and sin not." Be angry with what causes sickness, trouble, discouragement and sadness-sin and the devil. Don't blame God for your troubles. He didn't cause them. If you alienate yourself from your only true source of help by accusing Him of things He didn't cause, where does that leave you? 

5} Speak less and listen more. "Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger." James 1:19. If we would listen more to people and talk less, we would probably get angry less with them because we would actually be hearing what they are saying and would understand. We would ask questions for clarification and gain a true picture of what is on their heart so that when we do speak, our words would be effective and helpful.  

Bottom line is that we must be intentional with God. We must approach him with a humble and reverent heart because He is God and we are only there because His love has made a way for us to be in His presence at all! We must speak in a way that represents and honors Him. 

We not fear Him if we are saved, but He must never become common because He has never been or will he ever be common. He is divine. He is eternal. He is all powerful. He is God Almighty!

 
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If People Would Just Be!

4/6/2017

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I've lived almost 35 years as a born again Christian. Through the years I have experienced some very precious Christian fellowship. I've also experienced some very disturbing things done in the name of Christianity. With the current teaching pervading Christianity that you are not necessarily what you do, I also experience an increase of comments from non-believers about the hypocrisy of Christianity. Folks are going to hell because they have become disillusioned about Christ from observing His "believers" saying one thing and doing another and using "grace" to justify it.  This essentially makes us no different than "nice" sinners that we meet everyday.

In my case, it's a sad commentary that I have experienced first hand. Our next door neighbors are a a pair of older gay men. They have been our neighbors for over 12 years. Of all the neighbors that have come and gone, these two are our favorites. They are some of the nicest, most caring people I've ever met. Through the years they have taken many opportunities to bless us and frankly their concern and encouragement has at times far exceeded our own Christian community. They are what they are. They just do what they are. The are "nice" people. They are not saved but their experiences and perhaps their personalities given them by God have made them thoughtful, caring and nice. We enjoy talking and visiting with them.

One of our previous next door neighbors was a Minister. Doctrinally we differed on one thing. He was Calvinist in his thinking. We are Armenian. Some would rule this as a large difference, but we both knew that the basic foundation of our faith was being born again by the Spirit of God. When we visited, we talked of Christ and it was very nice. He lived what he professed because he believed that without change at salvation, there truly was no salvation. 

Another neighbor down the street is also Christian. In fact, they believe very closely what we believe except for one thing. They are Baptist and we are Pentecostal. Yet, our foundation is the same-Jesus Christ. When we first moved here I was hoping that we could fellowship together and work at winning our neighbors to Christ. It was not to be. While they are very friendly to everyone else on the street, they treat us as if we don't exist. We drive by their house on our way out of the neighborhood and if they are outside, they don't wave. They walk by our house when I'm sitting on the porch and they pretend that they don't see me. The woman walks a lot with others. When I tried to walk with her one day she told me that she uses her walks as her prayer time and didn't want to walk with me. The only time they are friendly towards us is when their ministry sponsors a welcome dinner for new International students at the local university.  Then they knock on the door with a big smile and ask if we would like to donate. At first our church did. We even attended the event to meet International students and signed up to host them for a meal in our homes. Funny, only one family from our church in 4 years was assigned a student to have to their home even though we all signed up. I can't help thinking it's not by coincidence. The other day I was driving up the street and she and another woman were walking in front of my house. I was pretty close to them because I was parking. I smiled and waved, which I always do, and she acted as if she didn't see me, even though I could have very easily run over her with my car. In the community they portray themselves as such great Christians yet they treat their own brothers and sisters in Christ like this. 

I've discovered that sinners are not dumb. They see and experience this kind of behavior from Christians all the time.  Didn't Christ Himself say that they will know we belong to Him because of our love for one another? Yet, they see this kind of thing within the Christian community all the time. The arrogance and loveless behavior of our neighbors perplexes and saddens me. On the outside they pretend to be good people but their behavior towards us is their true identification. You see, when you belong to Christ, you treat all people with love, saint and sinner alike. Christians need to stop acting and start asking for the fruit of the Spirit. You can act the part of a Christian or you can truly let God make you one. Just be what God has made you. You are a new creature. Old prejudices and judgments have passed away. Behold! All things become new! And that includes your disposition. To me our neighbors practice fake religion because they cannot even be civil, much less begin to act loving towards us. What is in their hearts? If we had ever done anything to them, it might make sense but we have never done anything to make them feel this way towards us that we know of. They have steered people away from our church, even lying about us when they have never passed through our doors, not even once. 

​If you want to act loving, do it because the love of Christ truly rules in your heart. Don't act kind, be kind. Don't act merciful, be merciful. Don't say to yourself that you should act a certain way because you are Christian, act that way because being a Christian has made you that way! There is a huge difference! Just BE what you profess. If you aren't what you know you should be, yield to the Holy Spirit and let Him do that work in you. Then you don't have to work so hard to carry on the facade. Facades will deliver failure and souls may be in the balance. JUST BE! JUST BE!
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In God's Time

3/26/2017

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It's been said that "timing is everything." I was thinking about events in the Bible and the timing of them. Do you realize that everything that happened was in God's perfect time? The seven days of creation were God's perfect timing. The birth of Issac was God's perfect timing. The exit of Israel from slavery in Egypt was God's perfect timing. The birth of Christ was God's perfect timing. The things that are to come will also come in the fullness of its time as ordained by a perfect God.

We know all of this yet so often we question God's timing. When things come that are hard and painful we question God's timing. Sometimes we go even further and question His love, His goodness, whether He's paying attention or if He really exists at all. 


Ecclesiastes 3 There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven--
2 A time to give birth and a time to die;
A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.
3 A time to kill and a time to heal;
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
4 A time to weep and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn and a time to dance.
5 A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.
6 A time to search and a time to give up as lost;
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
7 A time to tear apart and a time to sew together;
A time to be silent and a time to speak.
8 A time to love and a time to hate;
A time for war and a time for peace.
 11 He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.
If we believe that all the events in the Bible were God's perfect timing, if we believe that all the events coming in the future are all according to God's perfect timing as they meet their fullness, then why do we find it so hard to believe that the things we encounter in life are part of God's perfect timing for the world, thus part of His perfect plan for us? 

It's food for thought.

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