It is Doomsday, according to some. It is the day of Judgment according to others. It is the day the world will end according to still others. Of course, they are all entitled to their own opinions, beliefs and thoughts. As for me, I say, "Hogwash." Today is Saturday, May 21, 2011...and it as special a day as any other is....no more, no less (unless of course, you have a family event happening today.)
If the world truly ends today, a lot of people are going to be surprised. Those without any spiritual beliefs at all may find that they should have had some. Those with beliefs in gods other than the only true and wise God may wish that they'd listened when they were told about worshipping false gods. Those with beliefs that they've lived for as long as they've known their Savior will be the ones who reap the benefits of living a life for Him. I happen to believe that I'll be one of the latter. Whether I'm gifted with rewards or not, according to my works, is my least concern. Being with my Lord Jesus will be my greatest reward, whenever that occurs and however it does.
All this talk of 'the end of the world' on any specific date, is in my opinion, false teaching. My Bible, which I believe to be the perfect and infallible Word of God, tells me to turn a deaf ear when told to go this way or that, but to keep my eye on the goal. My eyes are ever upon Jesus, and if they stay there, I won't be swayed by false teachers or untruths.
For those who do not yet know the truth of Jesus Christ, I pray that they will come to know Him and all that He stands for. I pray that they will yield to Him and His teachings, that they will be ready to meet Him when that day comes. It may be morning, maybe noon, maybe in the evening. We will know, when we see Jesus, whether our beliefs were truths or falsehoods. I just hope that we're all ready to meet Him. If you aren't, and you know you aren't, please make it a priority. There's no time like the present to get things right with God.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Saturday, April 2, 2011
The Right Words...
My daughter is feeling sadness during this time when a member of her husband's family is going through a stressful time of ill health. They live many states apart, and when the reports come from family in Pennsylvania, they are often conflicting. Their words tend to take my daughter's household on a rollercoaster ride, because they aren't there to see for themselves what the truth is.
This morning I offered all the comfort that I could, but my words have no real wisdom or comfort to offer, try as I might. However, I also gave her the scripture, Phil 4:6-7. Later she wrote to say thank you for that, and that she would pass the words along to the Pennsylvania folk, for she was sure they'd find comfort in the scripture too.
It gave me pause for thought. When our hearts are hurting for someone else in their situation, we want so much to say the 'right' thing.....something that will cause their stresses to ease and their pain to lessen. We feel compassion, and yet there are times when there's absolutely nothing one can say that will help. The Lord, however, knows how to reach down and give His ultimate soothing. His voice will speak to the depths of hearts and minds, and His words will speak "Peace, be still" to those whose lives are being battered by life's storms.
Aren't we blessed to know a Savior who cares for us with the deepest love? Isn't it wonderful to have the knowledge that He knows every single detail of every single situation, and that not one speck of our emotion goes unnoticed? Isn't it a tremendous relief to know that the God of all creation has time to speak just the right thing at the right time? And, what joy it is to know that He has given us a Book full of His comfort, and all we need to do is to pick it up in order to hear Him speak?!
Though we may flounder in our efforts, God always has just the Right Word!
This morning I offered all the comfort that I could, but my words have no real wisdom or comfort to offer, try as I might. However, I also gave her the scripture, Phil 4:6-7. Later she wrote to say thank you for that, and that she would pass the words along to the Pennsylvania folk, for she was sure they'd find comfort in the scripture too.
It gave me pause for thought. When our hearts are hurting for someone else in their situation, we want so much to say the 'right' thing.....something that will cause their stresses to ease and their pain to lessen. We feel compassion, and yet there are times when there's absolutely nothing one can say that will help. The Lord, however, knows how to reach down and give His ultimate soothing. His voice will speak to the depths of hearts and minds, and His words will speak "Peace, be still" to those whose lives are being battered by life's storms.
Aren't we blessed to know a Savior who cares for us with the deepest love? Isn't it wonderful to have the knowledge that He knows every single detail of every single situation, and that not one speck of our emotion goes unnoticed? Isn't it a tremendous relief to know that the God of all creation has time to speak just the right thing at the right time? And, what joy it is to know that He has given us a Book full of His comfort, and all we need to do is to pick it up in order to hear Him speak?!
Though we may flounder in our efforts, God always has just the Right Word!
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Following Directions....
God leads, always. I follow...mostly. I'm learning to do that, more and more, rather than to turn and run in another direction, as a rebellious child might do. Life is not a game of Risk. It is serious stuff, and I've come to learn a few lessons along the way. One of them is that there is much danger in taking the wrong route.
One very practical lesson was given to me one evening. I was fairly new to the area and was learning my way around. One evening, I had to attend a meeting in a neighboring city. I took the wrong route, thinking that it was the correct road. After a quick phone call to a church member who also would be attending, she met me along the way, and I followed behind her to the meeting place. At the end of the evening, she asked if I knew the way home, if she got me to Hwy 8, and I told her that if she got me to Main St, I'd be just fine. So, I followed her to the light at Main St, a four way intersection. She went left, over the railroad tracks, and I thought she was taking another way home, so I turned right, thinking I was going toward Hwy 8.
Within a few minutes, I realized I was not where I should have been. This road was narrow and very dark, and seemed to be heading into a rural area. rather than a business district. As I passed a school, in the dim street light, I could see some young men in a group on the sidewalk. At the next turn, I steered the car into the lane, and then into the driveway at a rundown house. The road was so narrow, with a drainage ditch on the other side, so I had to do multiple maneuvers to get the car turned around. By the time I was able to drive the 50 or 60 feet to the corner, one of the young men was standing on the dark corner. He began to yell at me, and walked in front of my van in the light of my headlights. He then turned and began to walk toward my drivers side door. Fear gripped me. My doors were locked, but still, I was aware that if he wanted to, he could break the glass and I would be at his mercy. Knowing that he was not in line for me to mow him down, I turned the wheel and sped the car as fast as I could, back toward Main Street.
About then, my cell phone rang. I couldn't get to it, as I hurried away from a potentially dangerous situation. When I got back to the intersection where I'd made the wrong turn, the phone rang again. It was Becky asking if I'd turned right, when she turned left. "Yes" I answered. She gave me the correct instructions, and I followed them, getting myself back on the right path toward home.
I'd prayed from the moment I realized I was not where I was meant to be, and all the way back to my own neighborhood. God was with me through the whole thing, but anxiety causes my heart to race when I think of what might have happened that night.
When the Lord tells us to go a specific way, He is telling us that for a reason. He is directing us in safety. He is sending us where He knows we belong. When we head off on our own, there is no telling the danger that we might encounter. Yes, He will be there with us, but disobedience always has it's consequences, and would I be rescued from danger if I've not followed the direction? I can only hope so, but why take the chance.
My lesson has been learned. He leads. I will follow.
One very practical lesson was given to me one evening. I was fairly new to the area and was learning my way around. One evening, I had to attend a meeting in a neighboring city. I took the wrong route, thinking that it was the correct road. After a quick phone call to a church member who also would be attending, she met me along the way, and I followed behind her to the meeting place. At the end of the evening, she asked if I knew the way home, if she got me to Hwy 8, and I told her that if she got me to Main St, I'd be just fine. So, I followed her to the light at Main St, a four way intersection. She went left, over the railroad tracks, and I thought she was taking another way home, so I turned right, thinking I was going toward Hwy 8.
Within a few minutes, I realized I was not where I should have been. This road was narrow and very dark, and seemed to be heading into a rural area. rather than a business district. As I passed a school, in the dim street light, I could see some young men in a group on the sidewalk. At the next turn, I steered the car into the lane, and then into the driveway at a rundown house. The road was so narrow, with a drainage ditch on the other side, so I had to do multiple maneuvers to get the car turned around. By the time I was able to drive the 50 or 60 feet to the corner, one of the young men was standing on the dark corner. He began to yell at me, and walked in front of my van in the light of my headlights. He then turned and began to walk toward my drivers side door. Fear gripped me. My doors were locked, but still, I was aware that if he wanted to, he could break the glass and I would be at his mercy. Knowing that he was not in line for me to mow him down, I turned the wheel and sped the car as fast as I could, back toward Main Street.
About then, my cell phone rang. I couldn't get to it, as I hurried away from a potentially dangerous situation. When I got back to the intersection where I'd made the wrong turn, the phone rang again. It was Becky asking if I'd turned right, when she turned left. "Yes" I answered. She gave me the correct instructions, and I followed them, getting myself back on the right path toward home.
I'd prayed from the moment I realized I was not where I was meant to be, and all the way back to my own neighborhood. God was with me through the whole thing, but anxiety causes my heart to race when I think of what might have happened that night.
When the Lord tells us to go a specific way, He is telling us that for a reason. He is directing us in safety. He is sending us where He knows we belong. When we head off on our own, there is no telling the danger that we might encounter. Yes, He will be there with us, but disobedience always has it's consequences, and would I be rescued from danger if I've not followed the direction? I can only hope so, but why take the chance.
My lesson has been learned. He leads. I will follow.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Lessons from Children's Thoughts
There is a saying, "out of the mouths of babes". I don't know what the actual finish is of that quote, but the gist of it is that children tell it as they see it. We can learn much from them if we listen.
Spiritually speaking, there are none as innocent as children, and so their belief in God and the lessons they speak are purely from their innocent minds and accepting hearts. They mull things over in their heads when we have no idea of it, and they bring it out when they feel that it is appropriate.
The other day my daughter reported that her seven year old made an announcement during their evening meal. She said something to the affect that when we pray, the every word adds power and energy and when we say Amen, the prayer shoots up to God. I believe she's right. Our power and strength are increased through our conversations with God, the Father. Our lessons come from Him as we listen to His voice.
When one of my children was about the same age, she looked very pensive, and then asked, "Mommy, does God have a wife?" Her sister, who is nearly three years old, answered before I could. "God doesn't have time for a wife." That is true as far as we know about wives. Human wives take a good deal of time and effort for men. But, God is not man, thankfully! He is God, and He has all time in His hands to do with as He chooses. In His time, He will come for His Bride, the church, and we will live eternally together with Him.
Another of my daughters, at the age of ten or twelve years, was in a basement room when she caught sight of a little frog on the other side of the window glass. He was in the window well, a walled 'hole' that allowed access through the window. There was a garden snake that had slithered down into the well and was hungrily looking to have the frog for lunch. The little frog kept hopping and hoping escape being the menu special of the day. He tried and tried, with all his might, to escape from that hole and find his salvation. Eventually his perseverance paid off and he hopped away leaving a disappointed predator. When the ordeal was finished, my daughter came upstairs and told me about the drama she'd just watched. She thought it was like the devil who was always trying to 'get' us. She finished up by saying to me, "Mom, do you know what the moral of the story is?" I had no idea what to expect, but asked, "What is it?" Her answer? "Good always overcomes evil." Amen!
Don't you love the way that children see things? Perhaps they have things exactly right, but their thoughts provoke our own, as evidenced by my remembering of these stories. They also give us opportunity to give God's lessons to them, that their thinking as they grow would be in spirit and in truth.
Spiritually speaking, there are none as innocent as children, and so their belief in God and the lessons they speak are purely from their innocent minds and accepting hearts. They mull things over in their heads when we have no idea of it, and they bring it out when they feel that it is appropriate.
The other day my daughter reported that her seven year old made an announcement during their evening meal. She said something to the affect that when we pray, the every word adds power and energy and when we say Amen, the prayer shoots up to God. I believe she's right. Our power and strength are increased through our conversations with God, the Father. Our lessons come from Him as we listen to His voice.
When one of my children was about the same age, she looked very pensive, and then asked, "Mommy, does God have a wife?" Her sister, who is nearly three years old, answered before I could. "God doesn't have time for a wife." That is true as far as we know about wives. Human wives take a good deal of time and effort for men. But, God is not man, thankfully! He is God, and He has all time in His hands to do with as He chooses. In His time, He will come for His Bride, the church, and we will live eternally together with Him.
Another of my daughters, at the age of ten or twelve years, was in a basement room when she caught sight of a little frog on the other side of the window glass. He was in the window well, a walled 'hole' that allowed access through the window. There was a garden snake that had slithered down into the well and was hungrily looking to have the frog for lunch. The little frog kept hopping and hoping escape being the menu special of the day. He tried and tried, with all his might, to escape from that hole and find his salvation. Eventually his perseverance paid off and he hopped away leaving a disappointed predator. When the ordeal was finished, my daughter came upstairs and told me about the drama she'd just watched. She thought it was like the devil who was always trying to 'get' us. She finished up by saying to me, "Mom, do you know what the moral of the story is?" I had no idea what to expect, but asked, "What is it?" Her answer? "Good always overcomes evil." Amen!
Don't you love the way that children see things? Perhaps they have things exactly right, but their thoughts provoke our own, as evidenced by my remembering of these stories. They also give us opportunity to give God's lessons to them, that their thinking as they grow would be in spirit and in truth.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Transformed
Today you will notice a transformation in the blog's appearance. It needed it. I was not pleased with that blotchy bright red. It was not the 'real' me, and it was displeasing to my eye whenever I looked at it.
Hmmm....Am I pleasing to the Lord's eye? Or do I, myself, need transformation? Is my heart clean and pure, soft and compassionate as He desires it to be? Or, does He see it as hard, uncaring, blemished with dark sin?
What about my words? Are they what His ears would care to listen to? Are they praises and worship and songs of thanksgiving? Are they gentle in dealing with others, and truthful? Do they speak of God and His grace? Or are they full of my thoughts, my ideas, myself? Are they words that come from a love for God or from my own selfish nature? And my actions...how do they appear before the Lord? Are they heavily motivated by His Spirit and His love, are they done from an inspiration to share Him in my being? Or are they to bring myself into the spotlight?
Are they done for self-satisfaction and to be complimented?
As Christians, Christ should be our reason and our purpose. He should be our focus and our life.
We should do everything for Him, as He directs. When we look in our spiritual mirrors, do we see ourselves or do we see a reflection of Him? If we see anything that looks remotely like our self, we need to do some of clean up. Perhaps it's time for some examination...and some transformation.
Hmmm....Am I pleasing to the Lord's eye? Or do I, myself, need transformation? Is my heart clean and pure, soft and compassionate as He desires it to be? Or, does He see it as hard, uncaring, blemished with dark sin?
What about my words? Are they what His ears would care to listen to? Are they praises and worship and songs of thanksgiving? Are they gentle in dealing with others, and truthful? Do they speak of God and His grace? Or are they full of my thoughts, my ideas, myself? Are they words that come from a love for God or from my own selfish nature? And my actions...how do they appear before the Lord? Are they heavily motivated by His Spirit and His love, are they done from an inspiration to share Him in my being? Or are they to bring myself into the spotlight?
Are they done for self-satisfaction and to be complimented?
As Christians, Christ should be our reason and our purpose. He should be our focus and our life.
We should do everything for Him, as He directs. When we look in our spiritual mirrors, do we see ourselves or do we see a reflection of Him? If we see anything that looks remotely like our self, we need to do some of clean up. Perhaps it's time for some examination...and some transformation.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Count Your Many Blessings...
This song always brings me a new outlook. "Count your many blessings, see what God has done."
So often we are wound up in our disappointments to such a degree that we don't see our blessings. There is no doubt that we're all subject to things that upset us, and sometimes rightfully so, but to let them control us is beyond reason.
We have a God who is totally in control, no matter what we feel, think, or see. He never slumbers, nor does He sleep, but is ever at work to bring about His plans for us. He doesn't leave us alone to deal with disappointments. He's right beside us through everything we encounter in life. What a blessing!
Nothing is as bad as it seems. God works all things to the good, if we love Him and are called according to His purposes. We often need to shift our perspective and see things from a more positive vantage point. If we look around us, we are surrounded by blessings. When we begin to give thanks for them, the things we were worried about or complaining about look small in comparison.
I'll end with this chorus. "Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace. "
So often we are wound up in our disappointments to such a degree that we don't see our blessings. There is no doubt that we're all subject to things that upset us, and sometimes rightfully so, but to let them control us is beyond reason.
We have a God who is totally in control, no matter what we feel, think, or see. He never slumbers, nor does He sleep, but is ever at work to bring about His plans for us. He doesn't leave us alone to deal with disappointments. He's right beside us through everything we encounter in life. What a blessing!
Nothing is as bad as it seems. God works all things to the good, if we love Him and are called according to His purposes. We often need to shift our perspective and see things from a more positive vantage point. If we look around us, we are surrounded by blessings. When we begin to give thanks for them, the things we were worried about or complaining about look small in comparison.
I'll end with this chorus. "Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace. "
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Words of Hope
For as long as I've been a Christian, there have been favorite verses of scripture. One is Romans 5:8..."But God commended his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." It always brings to mind the words of the folk hymn, " What wonderous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss to bear the dreaded curse for my soul?" It really strikes my heart with the knowledge that God is so forgiving and loving that He would die for a person so undeserving.
That verse is such a message of hope! When we are locked in sin, the soul often is wracked with pain, knowing that there are things which aren't right in our lives. But, do we know how to dig out of it? Most of us don't. Until someone comes with a message of Hope in Christ, there seems no way out. When the Spirit of God brings it home to our hearts as truth, and we yield to it, life has a whole new meaning.
Another verse that brings me great joy is 1 Thess 4:16 & 17. This verse speaks of the return of our Lord Jesus, in the clouds...coming to take His believers to be with Him forever! This message of Hope and Promise holds us together when we are bombarded with difficulties on this earth. We know that 'this, too, shall pass' and we will be rescued, in God's own time, from all that we know as we live here. We will be taken up...and 'thus we shall ever be with Him in the air.' What greater Hope is there to look forward to than the living, face to face, with Christ through all eternity?!
What words of Hope do you cling to, and why? I'd be interested to hear them.
Be a blessing...and be blessed!
That verse is such a message of hope! When we are locked in sin, the soul often is wracked with pain, knowing that there are things which aren't right in our lives. But, do we know how to dig out of it? Most of us don't. Until someone comes with a message of Hope in Christ, there seems no way out. When the Spirit of God brings it home to our hearts as truth, and we yield to it, life has a whole new meaning.
Another verse that brings me great joy is 1 Thess 4:16 & 17. This verse speaks of the return of our Lord Jesus, in the clouds...coming to take His believers to be with Him forever! This message of Hope and Promise holds us together when we are bombarded with difficulties on this earth. We know that 'this, too, shall pass' and we will be rescued, in God's own time, from all that we know as we live here. We will be taken up...and 'thus we shall ever be with Him in the air.' What greater Hope is there to look forward to than the living, face to face, with Christ through all eternity?!
What words of Hope do you cling to, and why? I'd be interested to hear them.
Be a blessing...and be blessed!
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