Category: Bible thoughts

Laughing IS Good Medicine

“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” – Proverbs 17:22 NIV (http://bible.com/111/pro.17.22.NIV)

There is so much negatve news swirling around us, and so much ugliness and evil in the world, I wonder how we manage to function under it. We are covered up in ads for facelifts and body sculpting; this machine/diet/surgery for a perfect body; this beverage and that outfit and this furniture to be accepted as part of the crowd…. Stabbing, mugging, rape, home invasion, pedophiles, kidnapping, robbery. Instead of being the occasional news item, these are what we hear about day in and day out. Add on to that, the lies and misinformation that pours out of the government, local and state and federal. It used to be that we taught our children to go to an authority figure for safety, and it’s becoming a risk even there.

Any wonder that antidepressants and “feel-good” meds and drugs and alcohol are skyrocketing? Who doesn’t want to escape from all that? Our spirits are being crushed under the pressure of the enemy. What can we do about it? By ourselves and on our own? Nothing. Nada. Zip. Stay crushed.

HOWEVER….

There is Good News; no, INCREDIBLE news!

“For God so loved the world that He gave His One and Only Son, that WHOEVER believes in Him shall not perish but have Eternal Life.” – John 3:16 NIV (http://bible.com/111/jhn.3.16.NIV)

We don’t have to do this on our own!

“For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that He has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.” – 1 Thessalonians 1:4‭-‬6 NIV (http://bible.com/111/1th.1.4-6.NIV)

If you are feeling hopeless, helpless, trapped; there is an answer, and it’s so simple it’s almost unbelievable. Really. All you have to do is ask Jesus to save you.

Talk to Jesus. You can pray these words “Jesus, I believe You are the One and Only True and Living Son of God. You are the Savior of this world. I confess my sins to You, Lord Jesus. Cast out the evil in me. Come into my heart, be the Lord of my life, right now, this moment I accept Your Salvation. Amen!”

And the people and the angels will shout Hallelujahs; even the earth rejoices when a soul comes to the Lord.

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“Shout for joy, you heavens; rejoice, you earth; burst into song, you mountains! For the LORD comforts His people and will have compassion on His afflicted ones!” – Isaiah 49:13 NIV (http://bible.com/111/isa.49.13.NIV)

And All of Creation.

My three R’s: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” – Genesis 1:26 NIV
(http://bible.com/111/gen.1.26.NIV)

God created the heavens and the earth. Then He created all living things, both plant and animal, and finally man, to care for and tend to His creation. What a privilege we were handed! To be the caretakers and grooms of God’s Garden. Every day, we are given opportunities to step up and be His people, His servants, just as Jesus was. We can show our care for His land, His animals, and most importantly, His people. I’m not a member of the Sierra Club or Earth First, and I don’t support extremist animal organizations like the HSUSA or PETA (well, actually I am – People who Eat Tasty Animals!). God instructed us through Adam and Eve to go out and care for His creation.

“The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it…. The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.” – Genesis 2:15; 3:21 NIV

We can each individually take care of what is around us, whether it is in the inner city or out on a ranch. Take care of the animals and land, even a tiny parchment of lawn, as if it all belongs to God – because it does! Look at the amount of waste you generate, and see what can be done to reduce it. It is really trash, or is it something that can be composted or reused? Note: composting is a scary subject. It shouldn’t be! Even in a tiny apartment I was making compost for my plants.

My point is this: We need to take better care of the area around us. All of us are responsible. If there is a problem, look at it as a challenge or an opportunity to do things differently.

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God gave us a gorgeous garden patch. Let’s all pitch in and work on our beautiful world!

Christian and Being PC – ???

I am a Christian, a follower of Christ Jesus; Son of the Almighty God Who spoke the universe in existence. Second, but very important, I am a Patriot. I probably offend a lot of people as I speak my beliefs, and if I haven’t offended you yet…. hold on because I  probably will.

What does it mean to be a Christian? For a lot of people, it means they believe there is a God, and He has a Son named Jesus. Being a Christian is so much more than that! We aren’t capable of being good enough for God’s forgiveness, and we cannot earn our way into heaven. There isn’t a mortal man who can intercede for us. There is only ONE way, and it is by accepting Jesus as my personal Savior. Jesus wasn’t a good man, and He wasn’t a prophet. He is the Son of God, Who left a glorious and indescribably beautiful place next to His Father, to come to earth and live as a man. His purpose in coming was to be beaten and humiliated and to die on the cross as a sacrifice for my sins. He did it for your sins, too.

As a young child I recognized the truth of Jesus Christ as the One way, the ONLY way, to salvation. I wanted to know that I would be with my Daddy forever. As I became an adult I walked away from the Truth, letting circumstances and decisions take me away from God. Many years later, I  confessed my sins and let the Holy Spirit clean out the closets of secrets in my heart. I’m far from perfect, but I know the Truth and I have to proclaim it. Unless you accept Jesus Christ as the Son of God, part of the Triune God – the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, the supreme Advocate, and as your personal Savior – you won’t be in heaven for eternity. You will spend it in hell. Eternity is a long, long time, and I want you there with me!

I’m a Christian Patriot. This country was founded on Christian principles. It was done by imperfect men (there aren’t any other kinds) so there were, and still are, plenty of injustices. As a Christian Patriot, it is my responsibility to uphold the ideals set forth in the Constitution of the United States. I wish the elected leaders would do what they have sworn to do, but unless they are a Christian, I don’t believe they are capable of it. We are to support the downtrodden, and to help the weak and the frail. We are to love others – that doesn’t mean let them walk over us, and it doesn’t mean we love or support  their actions. Being a Christian will never be easy as long as we are on this earth, and I look forward to the new heaven and the new earth with Jesus! Love others…. it may be the alcoholic or drug addict, could be the person you know who is cheating on their spouse; your friend who steals from the boss by padding their hours or taking office supplies home to use, lying to get what they want…. there are many ways to sin besides the “big” ones. If we are not living in God’s law, we are living in sin, and I am as guilty as anyone. Jesus said that if you even have the THOUGHT, then you are guilty.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
Matthew 5:43-44 NIV (http://bible.com/111/mat.5.43-44.NIV)

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It’s easy to be politically correct these days…

PRIDE, PATIENCE, THANKS

“The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride.” –  Ecclesiastes 7:8 NIV

Pride. It has gotten me – and still gets me – into more trouble than anything else I can think of. Don’t tell me I can’t do something, because being told I can’t is like pouring gasoline on a fire. Maybe I shouldn’t, or maybe it’s not allowed; it might just be a bad idea. Just don’t tell me I can’t. My brain turns it into “I dare you….” and then, of course, I am compelled to do whatever it is in order to quench my competitive nature. Yep, lots of trouble.

That leads me to the being patient part. I typically have have about this much patience ( ) before it is gone. A wise pastor told me this years ago: If you pray for patience, God will give you plenty of opportunities to learn it. At the time, I had been praying for a lot of patience. My husband was having serious health issues and was unable to work, and consequently we lost his/our business. I had very recently undergone back surgery and lost my job; we lost our home, and we were having to move into a tiny apartment. That meant I lost my chickens and rabbits and had to find a home for my horse. Fun times. Can I just say here, don’t EVER pray for patience!

“Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.” – 7:8‭-‬9 Ecclesiastes NIV

Yep, there’s the anger. GRRRR. Why was all of this happening to us? Oh, yeah, this could be part of it.

“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18 NIV

We were proud of our accomplishments. We had a thriving little gun shop, I was a manager at the local builder’s supply store, we had just bought a piece of land, moved in our custom modular home, and built my little dream stable. We were active in our church. Why did it all happen? That’s a question I’d like to ask Jesus when I see Him. I think it’s related to us taking credit for what we had done, instead of giving our God the glory for it.

That was a lifetime ago. There have have many ups and downs since then; some really hard downs. I blamed God and for a long time I was only interested in me and what I could – and what I could do was to be very destructive to me and to others. Ugly. Now all I can do is thank God for where He has put me, and be continuously grateful for His Mercy and His Grace.

Thank You, Lord
Words and Music by Mr and Mrs Seth Sykes
© 1940, renewal 1968 by Seth Sykes
Assigned to Singspiration/ASCAP
All rights reserved
1 Chronicles 16:34 “O give thanks unto the LORD; for He is Good;
for His Mercy endureth for ever.”

Chorus
Thank you, Lord, for saving my soul,
Thank you, Lord, for making me whole;
Thank you, Lord, for giving to me
Thy great salvation so rich and free.
   
(All scriptures are from the Bible app, at http://bible.com)

In The Beginning…

Sitting out in my backyard in the shade, cool breeze blowing, watching the sprinkler give the garden a big drink, little dog in my lap and another at my side. Seeing and knowing how much the LORD of the universe loves me and calls me His own daughter… Blessed in ways I never believed or imagined. Life is good.

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” – Genesis 1:1 NIV
(http://bible.com/111/gen.1.1.NIV)

Theory or belief?

So many people profess to believe in the Theory of evolution, the idea that the stars and the plants, people and animal, even the universe, manufactured itself out of nothing. Some say it came out of space dust, or mud. Okay, where did the mud – or space dust – come from? Something cannot come from nothing. There has to be something in order to make something. Since everything is based on atoms, don’t we need a source for the atom?

My choice, even in the years I spent running from God, has been the belief, the knowledge, that God created the heavens and the earth. I can encourage nature to bring forth beautiful and edible things. I can take what others see as trash and make functional things. I’m not capable of creating anything without something to use as a base. In the garden, we use the dirt God made and seeds He provides to “create.” In the workshop, we can take raw materials and “create.” Something from nothing? Not a chance. Something from something? Absolutely.

We did come from the earth, but not from a primordial mud soup. God created us. “Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” – Genesis 2:7 NIV
(http://bible.com/111/gen.2.7.NIV)

Humans have been changing since the beginning of time, the beginning of our creation. We have changed physically, going through periods of time when humans were shorter or taller, and where our other physical characteristics have changed. We have humans in all shapes and sizes and colors, and we are all one race – the HUMAN race. All of mankind; all of the differences, all created from the dust of the earth by the God Who made it all. We are the ones who corrupted His perfect creation and caused the “evolution” of the perfection into chaos. We have evolved into selfish, self-righteous, bigots, and warmongers. We have made the evolution from perfection to ugliness and evil.

How can we change it? One person, one step at a time, and only by relying on our Creator. Despite our constant disrespect of Him, He waits for us to ask for His help, but He also doesn’t make us work for it. Just say the word, and He’s there to hold you and to carry you. One of my favorite parts of the Sistine Chapel ceiling is the part where God is reaching out to Adam. God is reaching, stretching, and Adam is just holding out his hand. God does the work for us. Pretty amazing, when you think about it.

(https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hands_of_God_and_Adam.jpg to see it.)

Have you asked Him yet?

Do We Really Need Any More Laws?

Don’t shoot the messanger, but seriously,  do we really need any more laws?

Think about it. We already have hundreds of thousands of laws on the books. Laws – both man’s laws and God’s laws – cover every facet of our lives. There are consequences and corrections listed for breaking them.

In a letter to Timothy, Paul says “We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me. I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” – 1 Timothy 1:8‭-‬17
(http://bible.com/111/1ti.1.8-17.NIV)

We have what we need to lead fulfilled lives, if we will just stop for a minute and change our focus from ourselves and turn it back to God. When asked “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied:

“ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” – Matthew 22:36‭-‬‬40 (http://bible.com/111/mat.22.36-40.NIV)

Seems pretty clear to me.

Backslider!

back·slide
ˈbakslīd/
verb
past participle: backslidden
  1. relapse into bad ways or error.
    “converted vegetarians backslide to T-bones”
    Synonyms: relapse, lapse, regress, weaken, lose one’s resolve, give in to temptation, go astray, leave the straight and narrow, fall off the wagon.

I grew up hearing the word in reference to church members, but the meaning didn’t really sink in until I was an adult. I realized that we, as humans, are constantly moving, and we are  either moving forward, or we are sliding back. Another phrase we’ve all heard is that life is an uphill battle. It’s true, and we are all backsliders.

We have our earliest ancestors, Adam and Eve, to thank for the initial difficulty of our life journey, but we have only ourselves to thank – or blame! – for whether we continue to move forward or slide back. Someone said that there is no standing still in life; that life is a slippery slope. You and I are constantly moving, and if we aren’t moving forward, then we are moving (sliding) back.

It’s so easy to slide. Moving forward is hard work, and sometimes it’s just too much. We need a break. Life is hard. It’s hard! Why do we have to struggle? Can’t we just take it easy for a change? I challenge you to take a hard look around you. Are you blessed, or are you hurting? Having so much fun that you can ignore the pain?

I did that. Alcohol, drugs, men, and the ggeographical”cure.” Only none of these are a cure. You can run, but you can’t hide. Maybe from people, but never from God. I know, because I tried for years to convince myself that I was able to handle my life just fine without Jesus being involved in it. I was a backslider. There wasn’t much going forward in all those years, and I can say from first hand experience that it doesn’t work very well. I can promise you a lot of pain until you figure it out.

I did have good times during those years, but I couldn’t hold on to them. My stinkin’ thinkin’ kept dragging me down. I wasn’t about to surrender to Christ and lose my good times! Sometimes I wonder how different my life would have been if I had listened to Him instead of the enemy. It was though my choices that I gave the enemy (i.e. Satan) control of my life, and that’s where we start that slide down. Occasionally I was able to pull my head out of the mud and get a glimpse of the Light, and I could pull myself up enough to start dragging myself forward. It didn’t last, couldn’t last, because I still wanted control.

I slid waaaaay back! I had lapses and relapses, regression, and became weaker and weaker spiritually because of it. Because of the prayers of my parents and family, there was a bottom to the slope. When I hit the bottom of that slippery slope, Jesus was there with His hands reaching out to help me up. It wasn’t easy for me to take His hands because I was still trying to stand on my own two feet. The mud of Satan’s lies and deceitfulness was – and is – too deep and slippery for that. I needed divine intervention. Only because of the help of Jesus Christ am I am able to stand up straight for a change. He carries my burdens and gives me a hand up, and
sometimes He picks me up and carries me. (Read the poem “Footprints in the Sand”) 

Jesus is standing with you on your slope of life, too, ready to lend a hand anytime you ask. Stubbornness, when it comes to Christ, is counterproductive to a peaceful and contented life. You may be  financially successful. You might have a beautiful family. You can have everything the earth has to offer but without Jesus Christ, your soul is empty.

Something to think about.