Month: March 2018

So Good To Me

“…. [For] “no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and this is their vindication from Me,” declares the LORD.” – Isaiah 54:17 NIV

It is such a joy to get up in the morning to contemporary Christian music! Growing up, we listened to records (yep, real vinyl LP’s, with the occassional 45rpm), of mostly classical music. It gave me a love for the rich, complex sounds of an orchestra, and I find that fullness and beauty in many of the bands today. Combine that with the words of scripture, add in the real life struggles we all face, then put the reality of CHRIST in it – it gives me a constant reminder of how good my LORD is to me; to how much He LOVES me. The struggles of our lives are real, and the songs don’t negate that. They enhance the Power of GOD, and provide respite from pain and worry. I could refer you to so many artists and their songs! I am reminded of His Love, His Power, His Omnipotence. How GOOD is God to me? Let me count the ways! He has rescued me from countless (really; I’ve lost track) life-threatening situations. He has always provided ‘enough.’ He has opened His Arms to receive me back home through all of my rebellion. He has carried me through sickness and heartache and sorrow. He knows me better than any person, and He Loves me enough that in spite of me, He sent JESUS to be my personal Redeemer and Saviour. Amazing!

He is so GOOD to me!

Listen to No One Like Our God by Lincoln Brewster.

You Make Me Blush

Compliments, commendations, awards…. who doesn’t like getting them? When my boss gives me ‘atta-boys,’ my response is to blush and pour more energy into my job. Getting a compliment on my appearance or the way I’ve arranged and decorated my home causes me to blush with pleasure – and with embarrassment, because my own opinion of myself and my work never measures up to my standards. Why is that? What cause us to determine that whatever we do isn’t ‘good’ enough? Can’t I just take a compliment without trying to minimize it?

Part of it goes to my childhood, part to my placement as a middle child, and part to my own personality. I’m an introverted extrovert – while I love being the center of attention, it also makes me blush, and want to run and hide. I like to imagine that I am very talented, but nothing I do is ‘perfect,’ and I abhore weakness in myself! Quite the dichotomy. I would like to be perfect, but I think I need to be more like Paul:

“But [the LORD] said to me, “My Grace is sufficient for you, for My Power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that CHRIST’s Power may rest on me.” – 2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV

It’s okay to blush a little at a compliment. It shows that you aren’t egocentric or a perfectionist. I think it shows humility. Just don’t beat yourself up over not being perfect, and don’t listen to the Father of Lies (i.e. Satan) when he tries to convince you that you are worthless. No one, other than the LORD, is perfect…. or ever will be. Be glad for the failures. Each time you mess up shows that you are trying, and there’s no reason to be embarrassed about that!

Patiently Waiting

Patience my ass, I want to kill something…

In my more bohemian days, that was something I think I said quite often. Then, my patience was very short – nonexistent, much of the time. Later, I was talking with a pastor and he said something quite profound to me. He said not to pray for patience, because when we do, GOD will provide us with plenty of opportunities to learn it. I realized I’d been going about it all wrong. Instead of praying for patience, I began to pray for strength and perseverance, and make it a point to ask GOD to please don’t send me any more ‘opportunities’ to learn patience! Even the great leaders in the Bible, Old and New Testament, felt persecuted and in desperate need of patience. Look at David. Both before he was king and after he became king, David needed patience. I love how his poetry shows his reach for the LORD, and how the LORD sustains him with willingness to wait in GOD’S Strength – patiently waiting….

“I love You, LORD, my Strength. The LORD is my Rock, my Fortress and my Deliverer; my GOD is my Rock, in Whom I take refuge, my Shield and the Horn of my Salvation, my Stronghold. You, LORD, keep my lamp burning; my GOD turns my darkness into Light. As for GOD, His Way is perfect: The LORD’S Word is flawless; He Shields all who take refuge in Him. For who is GOD besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our GOD? The LORD Lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be GOD my Savior!” – Psalm 18:1‭-‬2‭, ‬28‭, ‬30‭-‬31‭, ‬46 NIV

If you do a word search for the words ‘patient’ and ‘patience’ in the Bible, you will find many references. James, especially, spent a lot of time talking about it. He only has 5 chapters, but check out how he begins:

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds….. ” – James 1:2 NIV

Really? Pure joy for an abusive relationship? Pure joy for financial difficulties? Pure joy for losing a loved one? Patiently waiting my a**. No, I am so far from being patient, it can’t even be measured. The thing I hold on to is GOD’S Patience. Without Him, I am incapable of doing or saying anything good. I cannot fathom patience without His Hand guiding and holding me, and by Him carrying me when I simply cannot go on. The LORD is the epitomy of this scripture:

“LOVE is patient, Love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails….” – 1 Corinthians 13:4‭, ‬7a NIV

Thank You, LORD, for never giving up on me, for being patient with me, and for perservering with me. AMEN.

This Is Not My Home

Heaven – What a GLORIOUS home we are headed to!

This old earth is filled with breathtaking beauty, and I have enjoyed the views – and I look forward to many more years of viewing them. Spending time in the high mountains of Colorado and New Mexico, the Alps in Austria; visiting the Grand Canyon and viewing the canyons and valleys of the U.S. Playing in the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico and Tampa Bay, from sandy beaches with warm water to rocks and cold ocean water (the ocean is my happy place 🏖 ) ….. from the high desserts of sage and chamisa to the eery other-worldlyness of the Saquaro “forests” of the Sonoran Desert. BUT, this earth is not my home. I’m just here temporarily, until my LORD sees fit to bring me Home.

Do you ever wonder what happens when we die? Is it just nothing? Are we reborn, as the Hindu teach, or do we ‘become one with the universe,’ as some would have us believe? Do you scoff at the idea of a heaven filled with cherubs floating around on fluffy clouds playing harps, presided over by a grouchy old man with a long white beard?

I tell you plainly, those are all FALSE.

Heaven is definitely a place, and so is hell. We call it by many names: Sheol, Hades, Abaddon, Gehenna; but eternal damnation is the same regardless of the name. I don’t know what it will be like, and if you are really curious, there are quite a few resources to help you describe it. John calls it a place of fire and agony. After the New Testament, look at ‘The Many Names of Hell’ by Dr. Elmer Towns, on BibleSprout. I just know that I don’t ever want to see it. What we call Paradise, or Heaven, that’s what I am looking forward to! Despite our continual sin, the CREATOR, the LORD GOD of the Universe, wants us to spend eternity with Him – He doesn’t want us in Hell, but it is always and forever our choice. Who would choose forever anguish over eternal paradise? Apparently, millions and billions of people would rather live their lives without Christ than with Him, and that choice is their death sentence. Listen to this conversation by a known criminal when he met Jesus on the cross:

But the other criminal rebuked [the first criminal]. “Don’t you fear GOD,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this Man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your Kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with Me in paradise.” – Luke 23:40‭-‬43 NIV

What will Heaven be like? I don’t know, except that it will be glorious. The Apostle John was shown glimpses of Heaven, and he tried to put it into words that we can understand – but how do you describe the unbelievable, the indescribable, the unimaginable? I’m pretty excited to get to see it, and to experience it. I pray that you be there, too.

Fear Is A Liar

Going through life with fear is not a way to live. Fear takes away hope and joy, and living in fear prevents contentment. Being fearful can ruin us; it can keep us from any fulfillment, and from enjoying what we have. When we spend our time being afraid, it affects our entire lives. We worry, because fear fosters worry. It can lead to ulcers and other gastrointestinal problems. We can be plagued with headaches, insomnia, and depression. Phobias are born out of fear. Heights, the dark, water, driving, closed-in places, meeting new people…. even going outside. Some are organic, but I believe these fears can almost always be traced back to some event in our lives.

“But all who listen to Me will live in peace, untroubled by fear of harm.” – Proverbs 1:33 NLT

Are you ready to break the cycle of fear? There is an answer!

“Each time He said, “My GRACE is all you need. My Power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the Power of CHRIST can work through me.” – 2 Corinthians 12:9 NLT

The LORD doesn’t promise nothing bad will ever happen to us after we accept His Son, JESUS the CHRIST, as our Saviour. He does promise us Peace. It’s difficult to explain to someone who hasn’t experienced the Peace that GOD offers, but once you have, it’s amazing. In my life, I have a number of struggles facing me, financially and physically, even emotionally. I desire the finances to live comfortably, and not to wonder how the mortage and utilities will be paid each month. I would like for my shoulder not to be so messed up, or my my head not to hurt, and to be able to breathe normally. I wish for a companion who loves the LORD more than he loves me, someone who would be a partner. There have been many hours spent worrying and crying over these worries and fears. Hours that have become days and rolled into years. Now, rather than wallowing in that fear and worry, I strive instead to give it all to my Saviour and to let His Peace wash over me. It is possible to have peace in the midst of the junk! To paraphrase a popular saying – Know fear, no Peace; Know JESUS, no fear! All true and abiding Peace comes from the LORD. Accept Him and banish the liar from your life.

Listen to “Fear Is A Liar” by Zach Williams.

I Bring You My Tired….

I’m tired. Tired of the physical and financial struggles, tired of hearing bad news through the news media, and tired of entitled, mean-spirited people. Don’t get all freaky; I may be tired, but there’s more that I love about life than what I’m tired of!

“Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The LORD is the Everlasting GOD, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of His understanding.” – Isaiah 40:28 NLT

GOD never gives up on us, even when we give up on ourselves. Thank You, LORD!!

From “The New Colossus” (the Statue of Liberty), a poem written by Emma Lazarus in 1883:
“Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

I’m proud to be called a follower of Christ, a Christian, and I’m proud to be called an American. This poem exemplifies to me what the United States is about. I’m proud that our country has been the Policeman of the world because of the aid we give countries in trouble. It makes me proud (not arrogant) that I have been able to help others in my life, and I am humbled in knowing that this what Jesus asks us to do. Whatever I have done, and in fact, a lot of what the U.S. has been able to accomplish, is because of our reliance of the LORD. Without Him, there wouldn’t be a United States of America. Without Him, I wouldn’t be alive. I believe that we, as a country, need to look back at our roots. We should study the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. We don’t need more laws, we need to enforce the ones we have. We need to tighten our belts and consider our own citizens, our children, our elderly, our veterans; our country’s needs, before we send our people and billions of dollars to other countries. We must put GOD back at the helm. I support legal immigration – that’s how most my ancestors got here. American needs to be a country united, not divided over political garbage and race and money. Let’s become AMERICANS, and drop all the hyphenations. I can be an Irish-English-Delaware-Cherokee-Christian-American (I probably left something out!), or I can be an American. If I don’t like living here, I have tbe freedom to go elsewhere. Come on, America, we have some work to do.

“So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.” – Galatians 6:9 NLT

AMEN!

****Update: my Mom reminded me that we are German, also…. How could I have forgotten that???****

Judgemental Noise – Is It Evidence?

“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.” – Matthew 7:1‭-‬2 NLT

Since Jesus began His ministry over 2000 years ago, He and His followers have been judged harshly by the world. He has been/is called a liar and a crazy man. He has been/is derided and cursed and humiliated. His followers, called Christians, have been and still are persecuted and tortured and killed. The noise of all that; the people who have denied His origins, His Life, and His ministry – is just that, judgemental noise. I guess that the enemy (a.k.a. Satan, Lucifer, the devil, Death…. you get the picture) thinks that the more noise he can generate around Jesus means that fewer people will hear the Message and follow Him, the Christ. We grow up surrounded by noise. By the time the Baby Boom began at the end of WWII, we’ve polluted our lives with noise. Radios blaring, televisions on, rock and roll music, concerts, huge stadiums filled with cheering…. bullying, jeering, rallies – it all adds up, and the noise of our lives often prevents us from hearing Jesus. Pushed by the enemy, we seem to believe that everything and anything, EXCEPT Jesus, is acceptable. Satan uses judgemental noise to drown out the Gospel story. It’s “good” to believe anything you want to, as long as it’s not belief in our LORD JESUS. To be PC, we have to deny that JESUS CHRIST is indeed the Son of GOD as He claimed to be, and ‘O. M. G. You cannot believe this man actually came back from the dead????’ (Yes, that was sarcasm….)

This passage from Right From the Heart 1-Minute Devotions, Day 126, says it so well:

All through the ages, man has speculated about life after life. Dante’s Divine Comedy seeks to describe it. Modern medical science has added to the speculation with its study of near-death experiences. Now all kinds of religions offer their theories.

But the greatest evidence of life after life is in the historical evidence that Jesus rose from the dead. Christianity is the only faith founded by a man who died and came back to life. No other religion makes that claim.

Historical accounts of His appearances to His disciples and over 500 at one time, were written within twenty years of the event. His disciples faced martyrs’ deaths for refusing to quit preaching of His death and resurrection.

People don’t willingly die for something they know is a hoax. The one thing that would have stopped Christianity in its tracks would have been for Rome or religious authorities to produce the dead body of Jesus. They never did. The best evidence of life after life is the historical evidence of Jesus’ resurrection.

Noise, especially judgemental noise, has a way of finding Christians. The enemy does his best to cover up our witness that JESUS CHRIST is indeed the Son of the Living GOD, that He rose from the grave; and that He was resurrected in order to show all men and women, all of humanity, the Truth. The Truth about JESUS transcends all color lines, all ethnic, social, and political lines. Our LORD Loves every man and woman the same. Satan will use the busyness of your life to create the noise that keeps you from hearing about Salvation. Can you hear Him calling you over the noise? “Be still, and know that I Am GOD! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.” – Psalms 46:10 NLT

Will L. Thompson wrote these words in 1880. They are still true. “Softy and tenderly, Jesus is calling….”

 Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling,
Calling for you and for me;
See, on the portals He’s waiting and watching,
Watching for you and for me.

 

Grasp. Grasping. Grasped.

We are a grasping people. We want what we can’t, or don’t, have. We grasp from the time we are babies. I couldn’t count the number of times a baby or small child has grasped for my dangling earrings, my necklace, my hair, my glasses…. sometimes obtaining their objective, and sometimes not. We grasp for our toys, and move on to try to grasp the toys of others. We want it, so we should have it, right? In the process of growing, we (should) learn that no matter how badly we desire something, it is wrong to grab it from someone else. We become judgemental when we want what we don’t have; what we haven’t earned or been given. After all, if my neighbor has something better, shouldn’t I have it, too? Does the desire for that thing make it okay to reach out and grasp what’s not mine? We judge those we find wanting. We think (i.e. judge) that if they aren’t smart or assertive (or aggressive) enough to reach out and grab for more than they have, then we must be better than they are. In my experience, that attitude seems most prevalent among the people who have the most, whether it was given, inherited, or earned. I don’t like being judged for what I don’t have, so what gives me the right to judge someone else for what they have or don’t have? I work at my goals, and if I can attain them without grasping after them in a selfish or demeaning (to others) way, I will be content that I have reached them in a fulfilling way. I’m as guilty of judging and envy as anyone, but my intention is to be as fair as humanly possible!

Rather than spending my life grasping for what I don’t have, my prayer is that I will grasp the hand of the LORD and remain committed to Him. Contentment comes not from grasping for things, but from grasping the One Who Loves us.

“The Eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him.” – 2 Chronicles 16:9a NLT

Empty Minds, Empty Lives

“Listen to Me, listen, and pay close attention.” – Isaiah 28:23 NLT

When the prophet Isaiah spoke those words to his people, they weren’t Isaiah’s words, they came straight from the LORD. Since the very beginning, God has wanted us, His creation, to listen to Him; to hear Him. Why do we chose to ignore the God Who created us; why not listen to the GOD Who Loves us with an incomparable, incomprehensible Love, a Love that far surpasses anything we experience here on earth? Instead of listening to the Words of Love, we listen to the enemy, the false prophets and teachers that Satan sends.

“Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. For in Christ lives all the Fullness of GOD in a human body. So you also are complete through your union with Christ, Who is the Head over EVERY ruler and authority.” – Colossians 2:8‭-‬10 NLT

Buddha taught of Nirvana, of karma and rebirth. Isn’t it interesting that he took some of the teachings of the LORD, perverting them to introduce those ideas? Mohammed was another man who twisted the teachings of JESUS to benefit himself. Joel and Victoria Olsten have their “Prosperity Gospel,” teaching that creating wealth is the most important thing in our lives. There have been hundreds of thousands of men, purporting to be prophets since the beginning of time, who have twisted GOD’s Words in order to take us away from the ONE True GOD. Their goal is Satan’s goal: take us away from our LORD. Our Creator GOD had been telling us of heaven since the beginning – live righteously and spend eternity with Him in paradise. How do you know a false teacher from a man (or woman) of the REAL God?

Test them through the scriptures. Look at their lives. Do they live as The LORD commands in His Word, or do they live as the world? Jesus said:

“Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ….Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.” – Matthew 7:15‭-‬16‭, ‬20 NLT

When our minds are empty of the Words and the teachings of GOD and His Prophets, and especially of the Words of our LORD JESUS CHRIST, we become susceptible to the teachings of the enemy. Listening to music that encourages being selfish, promiscuity, unfaithfulness, greed, even violence and murder leads to changes in our lives and acceptance that these things are okay. Watching the immoral lives of leaders and the so-called society elite, looking at the athletes we cheer on…. What do their lives teach us? Looking especially at church leaders and religious leaders around the world, how many do you see living lives that glorify GOD rather than man? Following any of these causes our minds to empty of the Truth, and that leads to empty lives. Without God, without JESUS, to fill that God-shaped hole, we are truly empty minded and lead empty lives – no matter how successful you are by the world’s standards. Satan is a liar; a wolf in sheeps clothing. I pray for discernment against false prophets.

Listen to “Come to the Table” by Sidewalk Prophets.

Come join the sinners who have been redeemed
Take your place beside the Savior now
Sit down and be set free…He said come to the table
Come join the sinners who have been redeemed
Take your place beside the Savior now
Sit down and be set free…