Category: Grace

Coincidence, or God?

3 years ago today, I posted the following on my Facebook page. 3 days ago, I used that same verse – I had no idea it was going to pop-up in my memories today!

“Psalms 27:14 says to “Wait patiently for the LORD. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the LORD.”

What a beautiful, and difficult, verse! We want what we want, NOW. No pain, no sorrow, no hardships.

I want my mom’s eyes to be fixed. I want my friend to not have anymore back pain. I want another friend to be well, and her daughter to be delivered from the prison of debilitating physical pain and emotional bondage. I want my nieces delivered from the physical illnesses they battle. For my friends and family to be whole and well.

God often has other plans; plans that are beautiful…. If we just let Him be in control. “Yes, wait patiently for the LORD.” Amen!”

My mom’s eyes are much better; my friend had surgery and has no more back pain. My nieces are much healthier. God is still in control! We have new issues to deal with; financially and physically, but we know that no matter what we are dealing with, God is with us.

“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 (http://bible.com/116/isa.40.28.NLT)

That’s the promise He gives us!

I Have Sinned

“Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord .” Nathan replied, “The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die.” – 2 Samuel 12:13

If God forgives a man who was an adulterer and a murderer, and elevates him to king – why do you think God won’t forgive you?

“… EVERYONE who believes may have eternal life in Him.
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.
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.
Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s One and only Son.”
John 3:15-18

I think that says it all.

I NEED You, LORD

There’s a hymn we used to sing in church, “I Need Thee Every Hour.” It was written by Annie S. Hawks in 1872, a song that we could all relate to if we just admit our losses and failures. See if you agree.

I need Thee every hour, most gracious Lord;

No tender voice like Thine can peace afford.

I need Thee, oh, I need Thee;
Every hour I need Thee;
Oh, bless me now, my Savior,
I come to Thee.

I need Thee every hour, stay Thou nearby;

Temptations lose their pow’r when Thou art nigh.

I need Thee every hour, in joy or pain;

Come quickly and abide, or life is vain.

I need Thee every hour; teach me Thy will;

And Thy rich promises in me fulfill.

I need Thee every hour, most Holy One;

Oh, make me Thine indeed, Thou blessed Son.

Oh, yes, I need Him to make sense of the chaos and difficulties, the stumbles and falters, the failures I experience. I was in many ways more fortunate than most. I had an earthly Father who believed and practiced following Christ to the best of his ability, and a mother who made sure we were fed and dressed and well-mannered. We attended church services every Sunday and Wednesday; our churches hosted guest speakers, often in week-long revivals, so we were exposed to Christians from around the world. I learned very early that I needed Jesus, and accepted Him as my Savior very early in my life. Even as I became an adult and made the choice to step into the temptations of the world, I knew in my heart Who was LORD. I have been reminded over and over in the consequences of my choices that God is Supreme. He pulled me out of the depths of sin and depravity more than once. For a season, I would acknowledge His Lordship, and then I would turn my back on my Savior and go my merry way.

It amazes me that He never gave up on me. I’m not proud of my choices, even knowing that the greatest men of the Bible succumbed to temptation as great as mine. It amazes me that God chooses to use the bruised and the broken to follow Him. I think that’s why these words of Annie Hawks resonate in my soul. These words, along with the hymn ” Just As I Am” touch me so deeply. God doesn’t care about our past, or our color, or our financial state, or our physical condition. He cares about ONE thing; He cares about our souls, our heart condition. That’s why, in the Old Testament, the priests made blood sacrifices; to cover the sins of His chosen people. That’s why He sent His Son Jesus, to make the ultimate sacrifice and to cover ALL of our sins, past, present, and future, when we accept Jesus as our personal Savior. It’s why Jesus sacrificed Himself. For YOU. For ME. If you were the only person who ever lived, Jesus would have done whatever He did, just for you.

Mind-boggling; simple, but hard.

“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 (http://bible.com/116/isa.40.28.NLT)

HALLELUJAH!

Wait

Once again, God nails it; He sends me exactly what I need.

“Wait for the LORD.” (Best advice EVER!) –

I don’t like waiting. I’m not very patient. We live in a world of instant gratification. We want what we want, and we want it NOW. Young adults want the big fancy house or apartment, with granite counter tops and all of the amenities. Children want their own phones and computers and televisions and electronics. When they are able to drive, they want their own car; a HOT car, not the parent’s car.

Adults aren’t setting any kind of example, either. A new car every few years (guilty!); credit cards that enable us to live beyond our means; divorces because we are no longer “in love” with our spouse – adultery is rampant, pornography is the norm. Look at the TV shows and movies that are popular. Disrepecting our parents and others is “cool.” We worry and fret over situations and circumstances that we have zero control over.

I am blessed to have my home and friends and family. Yet I find myself lacking contentment at times. There’s so much more I would like to do. Even after a lifetime of knowing that waiting on God is the best way, I still want what I want, now.

“Wait for the LORD….”

John puts it beautifully:

“In the beginning the WORD already existed. The WORD was with GOD, and the WORD was GOD.

He existed in the beginning with GOD.

GOD created everything through Him, and nothing was created except through Him.

The WORD gave Life to everything that was created, and His Life brought Light to everyone.

The LIGHT shines in the darkness, and the darkness can NEVER extinguish it.”

– John 1:1‭-‬5 (http://bible.com/116/jhn.1.1-5.NLT)

Does it get any clearer than this? Let’s try one more from Luke, the physician who followed Jesus and researched the story of His birth in order to give us a factual, historic accounting.

“That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the LORD appeared among them, and the radiance of the LORD’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them.

“Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.

The SAVIOR – yes, the MESSIAH, the LORD – has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!

And you will recognize Him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

– Luke 2:8‭-‬12 (http://bible.com/116/luk.2.8-12.NLT)

Isn’t this the most insane, most beautiful thing you’ve ever read? Can you even begin time imagine what John and Luke are describing for us? When we take the time to wait for God’s impeccable timing, fabulous things happen. Mary relied on the LORD, when she was a young, pregnant, unwed girl…. because she recognized that God, the Almighty LORD, had given her the most precious gift. Joseph waited on the LORD, and took this girl and the baby she was carrying, and was rewarded by being the stepfather of the Son of GOD! The Bible is full of examples of people – ordinary, sinful, broken people – who waited upon the LORD and we’re rewarded. Joseph who was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers; Abraham and Sarah, too old to bear children and yet they had a son; Rahab the prostitute; Noah and his family; king David and his son Solomon….. the list is too long to put it all here. Wait for the LORD..

“Wait patiently for the LORD. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the LORD.” – Psalms 27:14 (http://bible.com/116/psa.27.14.NLT)

Probably Going to Upset Someone…

Over the centuries, these verses have caused consternation and controversy among followers of Christ. It is not my intention to upset or offend; however, I am compelled to present my thoughts.

“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” – Romans 12:1‭-‬2 NLT (http://bible.com/116/rom.12.1-2.NLT)

Many took these words to mean that they should separate themselves from the world, and live as hermits. Others joined like minded individuals and founded monasteries, where they could live in seclusion from the world, to study God’s Word. Like everything human, these became flawed institutions where men and women took the LORD’S instructions and perverted them. Please don’t misunderstand. Not every person became an extremist. That is, unfortunately, one of the flaws we carry in our humanity; the ability to take something good and holy and twist it. We ALL do it to some extent. There are many good and decent men and women who have taken the vows to become monks and nuns; many more who are truly committed to following the Lord than those who twist their vows into something ugly. Take for example the practice of self-flagelation. How, in the Name of all that is Holy, can harming ourselves be conceived as something our God would condone, or encourage? I think not. Paul addresses this in his letter to the Corinthians:

“Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.” – 1 Corinthians 6:19‭-‬20 NLT (http://bible.com/116/1co.6.19-20.NLT)

Whether harming ourselves through self-flagelation, physically or mentally or emotionally, or doing it to someone else, it’s wrong. Just consequences for wrongdoing are necessary because of our sinful nature’s, and they (hopefully) help us learn right and wrong. Setting one’s self apart from the world for a time of mediation and study can be enlightening and help us find peace with inner turmoil. The key is to use the time wisely, and then to rejoin the world to be an example for Christ. If you go back to Romans 12:1-2, it is clear that we are to be a light in the world. We should be different from the world, discerning in our dress and attitude. Our minds and our bodies belong to God, and when we surrender our lives to Jesus, our souls then belong to Him as well.

“We can say with confidence and a clear conscience that we have lived with a God-given holiness and sincerity in all our dealings. We have depended on God’s grace, not on our own human wisdom. That is how we have conducted ourselves before the world, and especially toward you.” – 2 Corinthians 1:12 NLT (http://bible.com/116/2co.1.12.NLT)

“In Christ Alone” just came on K-LOVE radio, one of my favorite new hymns, recorded by Kristian Stanfill. We are God’s children through His Son Jesus, and it is through Him that we are able to live apart from the world while at the same time we live in the world. I believe that this is what Paul meant when he said not to copy “the behavior and customs of this world,” and not to seclude or exclude ourselves from it physically.

Again, just my thoughts.

The ROCK

A reminder:

– – “Would you rather live your life as if there was a God and die to find out there isn’t, or live your life as if there isn’t and die to find out there is?” – – unknown author – –

No matter what is going on in my life, Jesus has to be my Rock, or I will fall apart. It’s hard to embrace this statement during the hard times, but embrace it we must.

“But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord…” – – Joshua 24:15b

God, I pray for direction and discernment in all aspects of my life. Amen!

Promises, Promises

Our lives are full of broken promises. When I turned 5, I was supposed to get a pony for my birthday…. in my mind, at least! Instead, my Dad accepted the pastorate in a small town miles away and we had to move away from our little farm. How dare he! I’m very proud of my Dad for doing this, because he had to stand up to hisparent’s very strong objections. I didn’t get my pony; I got a father who had courage and conviction and a strong faith. People continued to disappoint me as I grew up. My first boyfriend went away to college and ended our relationship. At my college, my first roommates lied and snubbed me – I was naive enough to believe that they were going to welcome me and we would be friends. Not a promise, per se, but definitely an expectation. I broke, have broken, more than my share of promises. A marriage vow is a promise, and I went into my first marriage having received the promise of a faithful husband who would care for me, protect me, and stand by me.

With those promises all broken, it broke me, for many, many years.

Look at Cain and Abel, Noah, Enoch, Abraham and Sarah. (Read Hebrews 11 for the background). Issac, Jacob, Esau…. Job. The list continues, through the entire Bible.

“All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. ….. It was by faith that Moses’ parents hid him for three months when he was born. They saw that God had given them an unusual child, and they were not afraid to disobey the king’s command. How much more do I need to say? It would take too long to recount the stories of the faith of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and all the prophets.” – Hebrews 11:13‭, ‬23‭-‬23‭, ‬32
(http://bible.com/116/heb.11.13-32.NLT)

God has promised that anyone who believes on the LORD Jesus Christ will be saved from eternal damnation and the fires of hell. Why should we believe that God will honor His Promises? The next time it rains, look for the rainbow. God created the rainbow as a sign to signify His promise to Noah that the world would never again be completely flooded, and it hasn’t been. God promised the prophets of old that He would send the Messiah to bear our sins, doing away with the need for a blood sacrifice. He sent Jesus, His Son – His SON – as the Messiah to die for the sins of the world, and to conquer death forever.

When I finally got sick and tired of being sick and tired, I accepted that I couldn’t fix me. I had to let Jesus and the Holy Spirit into my heart to begin the healing process. I’m not “fixed” by any measure, but I am getting better. In this world, I accept that life will continue to be a struggle, BUT I know, through faith, that whatever happens here, I will spend eternity with Jesus and many loved ones.

It’s HARD to keep our faith during struggles with broken promises. Broken marriages, lies and cheating, test our faith. Bosses and friends who lie and backstab, betrayal from all sides… these things are so difficult to see past when they are happening. All I can tell you to keep faith is to look UP, not down and certainly not around, and place your trust in God. We will be hurt in the life. We will be lied to and cheated on and betrayed by other people. We will lie and cheat and betray people at some point; it’s inevitable as humans. (Thanks, Adam and Eve!) The LORD will never let you down. He doesn’t lie or cheat or betray us – those honors go to the enemy, Satan.

Be thankful for the little things. Do you have food to eat? Toilet paper? Plenty of things to be thankful for if you just look. Pray. Pray often, praising God for our blessings (remember, LITTLE things count!) Pray, Praise, Thanksgiving.

EVERY Person

This might be the absolute best, most exciting verse in the entire Bible!

“But EVERYONE who calls on the Name of the LORD will be saved.” Acts of the Apostles 2:21 (http://bible.com/116/act.2.21.NLT)

Not just the elite of the world. Not only kings or queens or politicians. Not just the most wealthy or the smartest or the most educated. EVERYONE; ANY one. You. Me. The poor, the helpless, the hapless. The worst of the worst criminals can do it. It doesn’t cost us anything, so economic status is irrelevant. It doesn’t require any physical strength or ability, making Jesus available to the weak and the ill and the impaired. Skin color, age… non of these things matter. I’m human, and wildly imperfect, and it really bothers me that vile, wicked, inhumane people can be forgiven and saved. Pedophiles, adulterers, cruel people. They should be glad that GOD is their judge, instead of me. I know we all be judged according to our lives, and frankly, it’s a scary thought. I don’t pretend to understand how it will all come down; I rely on scripture to explain the Judgement of the LORD. We will all pay for our sins. Every person and every sin, from the the smallest sins of omission to the most egregious sins of commission.

“And I saw a Great White Throne and the ONE sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from His presence, but they found no place to hide. I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before GOD’S Throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books. ….And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:11‭-‬12‭, ‬15 (http://bible.com/116/rev.20.11-15.NLT)

How can we get our names into that book? Call on the Name of Jesus. Accept Him as your Savior and acknowledge Him as the One True God.

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 (http://bible.com/116/jhn.3.16.NLT)

“Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to Life for us, and He is sitting in the place of honor at GOD’S right hand, pleading for us.” Romans 8:34 (http://bible.com/116/rom.8.34.NLT)

Stealing My Joy

“Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’ ”
Matthew 4:10 (http://bible.com/116/mat.4.10.NLT)

I’ve heard it said as “Get behind me, Satan!” Either way, the sentiment is the same. Jesus shows us through His own actions that we have the authority to command the enemy! Think about it for a minute. When things are beyond our control; when we are faced with a big temptation (after fasting for 40 days, do you really think Jesus wasn’t sorely tempted by the steaming hot bread Satan is offering Him?), we have the power to throw out the enemy. Pronouncing out loud “In Jesus Name, get out!” shows the enemy that we know where the true Power lies. It’s incredibly difficult to resist the lies and temptations. I know, because I have experienced them, and have often succumbed. (I’m not perfect, but saved through God’s Mercy and Grace; Hallelujah!)

We all face temptation, every day. It may be the foul word because of something done or that someone did that impacts us in a negative way, or the rude gestures we sometimes use; even the thoughts we have. Remember these scriptures? Jesus said:

“You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell….. You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery.’ But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Matthew 5:21‭-‬22‭, ‬27‭-‬28 (http://bible.com/116/mat.5.21-28.NLT)

We tend to forget that our thoughts are just as damaging as our actions, I think. Temptations are constantly around us in what we watch, what we listen to, where we go. I don’t think it’s wrong to appreciate the beauty of a person, but it’s so easy to slide from appreciation to lust. It’s no different with things. I have a habit of saying “Oh, I want that!” Most of the time, I’m semi-serious. Sure, I’d like to have it, but not to the point of pursuing it. Is that lust? Throwing a tantrum because I don’t get something, being jealous, or stooping to stealing; definitely succumbing to temptation!

My point? Temptation can steal our joy when we listen to the enemy. Any temptation. Letting our anger surge, jealousy of someone, out of control desire are all joy steelers. The enemy provides many chances for us to fall. He is a thief; a liar and the Destroyer of everything good. Don’t let the jerk steal your joy! Jesus said: “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” John 10:10 (http://bible.com/116/jhn.10.10.NLT)

Got that? By the way, Jesus wins!