Category: Hurting

I Am Knit Together in Love

My Grandma, my Mother’s Mom, crocheted blankets for people she loved. I will never forget the beautifully put together blanket she made for my baby. It was knit together in love. My Mom does cross-stitch, and has made beautiful works for all of us. Mine hang throughout my house, and everytime I look at one, I am reminded of her love. Everyone does something to show their love. It may be a tangible thing, like a blanket or a cross-stitch design or a painting or other handcrafted item, or a meal or baked goods. It could be an act of service, or it could be giving up a baby or child, so that the child can have a better life. These can all be put done in love.

God showed His Love in creating us; He knitted us together. As the psalmist so beautifully said;

“You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank You for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous – how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in Your Book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.” – Psalms 139:13‭-‬16 NLT

This Almighty God created a beautiful world for us to live on. He knit it together, along with the stars and the planets, for us to enjoy. He also created in us a free will, the ability to make our own decisions, and we have done our utmost to destroy our world and our lives ever since. The God of the Universe didn’t let us slide, but He did one better. He sent His Son, an integral part of Himself, to live among us and to die for us. The Ultimate Sacrifice.

“How precious are Your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, You are still with me!” –
Psalms 139:17‭-‬18 NLT

What Amazing Grace! Not only did He Knit together the Universe for us, He sacrificed Himself to redeem us from our sins. Whatever other people say to you, regardless of the lies and venom Satan spews in your ears, you have been knit together by God. You are beautiful to Him, and what you do matters to Him. His hearts desire is to Love us, and for us to love Him in return. To show us mere humans the breathe and depth of His Love, Jesus – The WORD – stepped down from His Throne, His rightful place at the side of GOD, for this purpose.

“In the beginning The WORD already existed. The WORD was with GOD, and the WORD was 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, ‬3‭-‬5 NLT

“So The WORD became human and made His home among us. He was full of unfailing Love and Faithfulness. And we have seen His Glory, the Glory of the FATHER’s One and Only SON.” – John 1:14 NLT

The point is this: we were knit together for one reason only. To share the ABSOLUTE LOVE of our Creator and Father with Him. Simple, but somehow it becomes the most difficult thing for so many people to grasp. If you have known any love in your life, multiply by a million, and you will still fall short of how much our Father in heaven LOVES us. Are you interested in a relationship with the One who created you and Who knows everything about you down to the tiniest component of your physical body (remember, He made it!), and He knows every thought you have ever had or will have…… ? I have a relationship with Him, and because of that He has made me the Daughter of the King of kings. How AWESOME is that? Your elevation from mere human-ness to being the son or daughter of THE King is just waiting for you to take a small but decisive step to Jesus.

“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. GOD sent His Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through Him.” – John 3:16‭-‬17 NLT

Have you taken that step and asked Jesus to come into your heart and your soul and your life? My prayer is that you will take that tiny step today as you are reading this. I can promise that there is NOTHING in the whole earth-world that will even come close to it!

Being knit together……

Do You CLUTCH?

From the Google dictionary:

clutch

– verb : to grasp or seize (something) tightly or eagerly.
noun : a tight grasp or an act of grasping something.

To clutch the Lord … that’s what I see Paul saying in these verses.

“We should help others do what is right and build them up in the LORD. For even Christ didn’t live to please Himself. As the Scriptures say, “The insults of those who insult You, O GOD, have fallen on Me.” (Psalm 69:9) May GOD, who gives this Patience and Encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of CHRIST JESUS. Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving Praise and Glory to GOD, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that GOD will be given Glory. I pray that GOD, the Source of Hope, will fill you completely with Joy and Peace because you trust in Him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the Power of the Holy Spirit. I am fully convinced, my dear brothers and sisters, that you are full of goodness. You know these things so well you can teach each other all about them.” – Romans 15:2‭-‬3‭, ‬5‭-‬7‭, ‬13-14 NLT

We need to clutch our Saviour, in order to live as He would have us. Without Jesus, we are as seeds or leaves: “The wind blows, and we are gone – as though we had never been here.” – Psalms 103:16 NLT

I can only speak for myself, but I want to know that I am more valuable in the universe than just a piece of trash, blowing wherever the wind blows. I am fickle and have difficulty holding to one thing or another, and without a shadow of doubt, I recognize that the only way to survive this world is by clutching JESUS and holding Him in my heart. When I allow Him to be with me and in me, I am most valuable. It is only through Christ and the Holy Spirit that I become capable of truly helping others. We can feed people, provide jobs and shelter, and even preach to others when we are outside of GOD and His will, but in truth, we are only as a clanging symbol if we do it all without the Love of the LORD. (From Matt Redmond’s “If I Have Not Love” and I Corinthians 13:1-3)

If I don’t have the Love of Jesus clutched to my heart, then really, nothing we do matters. Tough Truth.

Thanks Giving; Giving Thanks….

There is much to be thankful for.

The turkey is in the oven, the fixin’s for the dressing and the gravy are ready to put together and finished. Condiments and sides and desserts are being prepared by my sisters and their kids; ready to share a beautiful dinner with most of my Oklahoma family, and missing all those who aren’t here.

Just a few short years ago, I struggled to be thankful for anything. I was faced with a drug addict, alcoholic, verbally abusive, unfaithful husband. The verse Paul wrote springs to mind: “And we know that GOD causes everything to work together for the good of those who love GOD and are called according to His purpose for them.” – Romans 8:28 NLT

Because my ex’s addictions, I found myself in a Christ-centered group that dealt with ALL addictions, including relationship addictions. On my own, I couldn’t see any way out. It seemed hopeless. In the process of learning what an addiction/insanity is (Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result), I found my way back to Jesus. The recovery Pastor told me several times that “When you get sick and tired of being sick and tired, you’ll do something about it.” I finally did get sick and tired of the lies and the cheating and his breaking the law. (So did the DA, and he is – hopefully! – in prison for the rest of his life.) The point is that despite the ugliness and hopelessness of tne situation, I learned that there is ALWAYS something to be grateful for, even if the only thing you can think of is toilet paper. It’s easy to be thankful for the simple, everyday things when our lives are full of garbage.

Today I have so much to be thankful for. Topping the list is my LORD and Saviour Jesus Christ. I am so thankful to have a family who welcomed me back with no recriminations for my actions. I know how very blessed I am! I have a man who loves me, a warm and beautiful home, family and friends, my pups and pets, and I am surrounded by lots of good memories in my things. I was born in America, still the greates country in the world; I am an American. Yes, I am TREMENDOUSLY Blessed! There will be some who read this who are in the midst of great trials. Loss of a loved one, illnesses, incapacitated, loss of their job and/or (Me, too, 2 years ago and still unemployed 😐 )….. struggling with their own addictions, children who are lost to their parents, grief and sorrow. If tne only thing you can be thankful for is toilet paper, then HALLELUJAH, be Thankful! No shame in that! Know that you are in my thoughts and prayers that you will find something to be thankful for today, something that can lift you out of the mess.

That “something” is JESUS. When we are so far down that we cannot pick ourselves up out of the muck and the mire, He is able to pull us out and carry us. There is nothing, no sin, no situation, that is too much for Him to lift or carry. I am thankful for HIM!

I Am In Need… or, I Am Needy

“O GOD, You are my GOD; I earnestly search for You. My soul thirsts for You; my whole body longs for You in this parched and weary land where there is no water. I have seen You in Your sanctuary and gazed upon Your Power and Glory. Your unfailing Love is better than life itself; how I praise You! I will praise You as long as I live, lifting up my hands to You in prayer. You satisfy me more than the richest feast. I will praise You with songs of Joy.” – Psalms 63:1‭-‬5 NLT

I want to be like David, satisfied with nothing more than God’s Love, but I am too much in need…… or too needy?….. to be satisfied with the best thing available in this world. And it is a GIFT; freely given to us by the Almighty, the gift of His Faithfulness and Sacrifice and His Love. A gift so rich that not all of the billionaires and millionaires joining all of their resources can even begin to compete with. And our LORD wants us to have it with zero cost. How can that be? WHY can we not be satisfied with such a priceless, unmatchable gift?

GOD saved you by His GRACE when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a Gift from GOD.” – Ephesians 2:8 NLT

I think we aren’t satisfied because it is incomprehensible to us. Bill Gates, or Donald Trump, or George Soros could gift me with mansions and property, vehicles, and a trust fund to carry me effortlessly through life, and yet all that doesn’t even come close to the Gift of GOD’S Love. Incomprehensible, incomparable, …… unbelievable? For far too many people, GOD’S incredible Gift is exactly that – unbelievable. A deity that we cannot see or touch wants to give me Life? They can’t understand it, so they reject Him.

“He was despised and rejected— a Man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on Him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.” – Isaiah 53:3 NLT

Oh, for the faith of Paul, who was jailed for his faith, yet continued his testifying, and his encouraging letters to other believers, in spite of his confinement and suffering. How many of us would continue teaching and preaching while held in chains? “One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision and told him, “Don’t be afraid! Speak out! Don’t be silent!” ” – Acts of the Apostles 18:9 NLT

Will you be like Peter, whom JESUS called the Rock, or will we be as dry grass when the Judgment occurs?

“Therefore, just as fire licks up stubble and dry grass shrivels in the flame, so their roots will rot and their flowers wither. For they have rejected the Law of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies; they have despised the word of the HOLY ONE of Israel.” – Isaiah 5:24 NLT

Dead…. Only NOT Dead

Have you ever wondered what we will look like when we meet again in heaven? I subscribe to the belief that we will look like ourselves, only perfected by Christ’s Love. There won’t be any twisted bodies or missing parts or damaged brains. There won’t be any ugliness or sorrow, either. So, the next question is “Will we have wings, and will we all be blue-eyed and pale-skinned?” Absolutely not! God created us in our of our splendor, just as He created animals in theirs. Heaven will be a colorful and cheerful place. After all, God created color! I can’t speak for you, but I look forward to waking up in heaven and seeing Jesus in all His splendid Glory. My Daddy and my Grandma, our lost babies, and my fur babies will be waiting, vigorous and healthy and happy. All the Christ-followers that I have known, plus millions I didn’t know on earth, in all of their colors and ethnicities, will be there, too. I know that I will know them, however God sees fit to resurrect them in paradise. Sidenote: remember all of the people who have searched for the fabled Fountain of Youth and the City of Gold? They all looked in the wrong place, and WE get to spend eternity …. i.e. for-EVER ….. with both, because heaven contains them.

“But someone may ask, “How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?” What a foolish question! When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn’t grow into a plant unless it dies first. And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a bare seed of wheat or whatever you are planting.

Then God gives it the new body he wants it to have. A different plant grows from each kind of seed. Similarly there are different kinds of flesh—one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. There are also bodies in the heavens and bodies on the earth. The glory of the heavenly bodies is different from the glory of the earthly bodies. The sun has one kind of glory, while the moon and stars each have another kind. And even the stars differ from each other in their glory.

It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies.”

“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” ( 1 Corinthians 15:35‭-‬44‭, ‬55 NLT)

Are you confident of gaining your new body, or are you still running scared from the sting of death and the enemy? It is your choice, and yours alone, whether you will have a magnificent new body in heaven with Jesus, or a tormented and deformed body in everlasting hell with the enemy.

“Thank God for His Gift too Wonderful for words!” (2 Corinthians 9:15 NLT)

Consequences

“Be not deceived; GOD is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap Life Everlasting.” – Galatians 6:7‭-‬8 KJV

What an unpopular scripture! “Girls just wanna have fun….” “Love the one you’re with….” “Love ’em and leave ’em….” Take a few minutes and listen to the top songs, look at the publicity of Hollywood stars, see what is being said about top athletes and politicians in the news. Our society is all about “me” and having a good time. People are so busy chasing the “dream” and complaining about others, that God and consequences for our actions are pushed back and forgotten.

“Be not deceived; GOD is not mocked….”

“Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the Justice of GOD. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.” – Galatians 6:7‭-‬8 NLT

If you take the time to consider this statement Paul made in one of his letters to the Christ-followers in Galatia, it should probably stop you in your tracks and give you pause in your life. Harvesting what we plant can be a good thing, or it can be a nightmare. I think that for most Christians, this is recognized and acknowledged. We reap both good and bad, and we know it is consequences. However, we must also learn that the bad things that happen to us (illness, deformities, cancer, rape, abuse, and more) are not always OUR consequences. The bad and the ugly in our world is courtesy of our enemy Satan. We suffer the consequences of his rebellion against the Almighty God, through the choices of Adam and Eve, and because of our own rebellions. We shouldn’t just dwell on the consequences, and we DEFINITELY shouldn’t try to justify someone’s lives as their own consequences. Many, no, MOST of the “bad” comes directly from the enemy as he tries to break us into blaming God and turning our backs on Him. Satan has made great strides on the earth in turning people against God through the introduction of atheism and agnosticism, and through false prophets such as Buddha and Mohammed (and many others).

Consequences hurt, but they don’t have to derail us or destroy us. “Seek the LORD, all who are humble, and follow His commands. Seek to do what is right and to live humbly. Perhaps even yet the Lord will protect you— protect you from his anger on that day of destruction.” – Zephaniah 2:3 NLT

It is vital to recognize our responsibilities. Whether our struggles are the consequences for our own actions, or roadblocks thrown into our lives by the enemy, we have to keep our eyes and our hearts focused on Jesus. We have the added benefit of the Holy Spirit on our side. For me – and you – to live is Christ, and to die is gain. To help me keep my focus where it should be, I listen to positive music infused with the Love of the LORD. In my home and in my vehicle, that means the radio is tuned to K-LOVE at 88.9 FM and 103.7 FM, or AIR-1 at 91.9 FM (Oklahoma City OK area…..), or online at http://www.klove.com. (Yes, this a shameless plug for K-LOVE Radio, and no, I am not compensated by the station.) Try it! You might just find the inspiration or encouragement you need to make it another day, or at the very least, it can help adjust your attitude to a more positive one….

“As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our LORD JESUS CHRIST. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died. Dear brothers and sisters, may the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. AMEN.” – Galatians 6:14‭, ‬18 NLT

(https://bible.com/bible)

Here I am LORD, arms wide open…. (Jeremy Camp, Gracefully Broken)

“__________” Lives Matter

“For, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall but the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you.” – 1 Peter 1:24 NIV (Isaiah 40:6-8)

Remember singing this as a child?

“Red and yellow, black and white, we are precious in His sight, Jesus Loves the little children of the world!”

We should be singing this every day, but substituting the words “all tbe people” for “little children”. He loves us, ALL the children …. He LOVES us!! He doesn’t care what color I am on the outside, because we are all the same without our skin. I find myself discriminating against people more for their appearance than their color, and that is just as bad as discrimination for color. We are called to love EVERYONE, regardless of color, or appearance, or political beliefs; EVERYONE, regardless of actions. I know firsthand how difficult is when a person has hurt you. Proverbs 10:12 says: “Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs.” The LOVE of JESUS covers over ALL wrongs…..” This is so true. When I stay angry, or tense, or full of hatred, it REALLY affects me. Mentally, it gives me worry and stress headaches, and physically, it gives me stomach cramps that lead to ulcers. Does it hurt the person who harmed me? No, not all. They go on with their lives while I pay the price in my body with the hatred I carry. Just say “A pox on them!” and let it go. Remember this:

“For GOD Loved the world so much that He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish….” – John 3:16 NLT

Do I believe that this gives people who intentionally hurt others a pass? Absolutely not; I know that anyone can accept Jesus and experience His salvation (Hallelujah!), but we still have consequences for our actions. I can’t imagine how that will work when we stand before the Great White Throne for judgement by the Supreme and Almighty LORD of the Universe. All I can say for sure about that time, is that I know my Advocate is Jesus, and that I get to spend eternity with Amen.

ALL lives matter to Jesus. Red, yellow, black, white, blue. All the people of the world.

Revelation!

“Then the LORD replied: “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.” – Hab. 2:2‭-‬3 NIV

Heaven and hell; Real, or imagined?

What do you say? I pray, for your sake, you have accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, that you pray and study the Bible, GOD’S Word, and that you believe that is true. I pray that you have said “Yes, I believe there is a heaven and a hell.” I have nothing to gain by asking that question, but you have EVERYTHING to gain by believing and knowing the Truth. Jesus said:

“I AM the Way and the Truth and the Life. NO ONE comes to the FATHER except through Me. If you really know Me, you will know My FATHER as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him.” – John 14:6‭-‬7 NIV

How cool that must have been for the disciples, when they begin to understand that they were actually in the presence of GOD! I will eventually get to see JESUS face to Face, by imagine! The crowds of people and the disciples…. they walked with Jesus and they talked with JESUS, in the flesh, where they could look Him in the eyes and receive His Blessings in person. How AWESOME is that! It won’t be long for the rest of us, and we will get to see Him, too. Before that happens, we have to deal with our world as it is: messed up, polluted, filled with corruption and evil. The Ren Collective sings a song that says “I need a miracle.” So do I!

We have something as Christians that is uniquely ours, and that is our salvation. We know where we are going, and we know, or should know, that we can run to JESUS when the world tries to overwhelm us. Is that where you run? Do you ask Him for clarity of thought and protection? If not, …… WHY?

“Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near……. “Look, He is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him”; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of Him.” So shall it be! Amen. “I AM the Alpha and the Omega,” says the LORD GOD, “Who is, and Who was, and Who is to come, the Almighty.” ” – Revelation 1:3,7‭-‬8 NIV

AMEN.

Persecution Today

Do you feel like your efforts to live as a follower of Christ are being met by a rock wall? Is it that with every effort, it seems that something bad happens to you, and you are plagued by hard times? Are you going against the flow of what is popular and ‘fun’, and your peers laugh and mock you, or even bully you? Does it feel like you are the single light in the darkness? If all of this is true, then Paul’s words to Timothy will be especially poignant for you:

“In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is GOD-Breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of GOD may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” – 2 Timothy 3:12‭-‬17 NIV

Not all of us are like Timothy, fortunate to grow up in a Bible-believing, Christ-following home, praying and reading scriptures, and learning the ways of a Christian. That is a wonderful blessing, but not required in order to live for Christ and to hold up His Light for the world to see. No matter what age we are when we come to JESUS, we can be hungry for the Word and learn it in order to share it. Persecution comes with Salvation. It comes in different forms. As a child, it can be in mocking and bullying. As a teenager and young adult, peer pressure can be brutal. As an adult going into the work force, bosses and coworkers can discriminate and keep you from advancing. Even as adults, we are subjected to mocking and bullying.

Becoming a Christian, a follower of Christ, guarantees you will be persecuted. It may be subtle and covert, and it may be blatantly overt. The enemy uses every weapon in his arsenol to strike Christians down, and the more we live and represent Christ, the bigger the weapond he employs. As adults, it can be a job loss and being unable to provide for ourselves and our families. Disease and illness and injuries are used by the enemy to make us doubt the Sovereignty of GOD. Families and friends will turn against us – look at Jesus. He was rejected by his neighbors and had to leave His home in order to begin His ministry.

Remember Paul? He lost everything to serve His LORD. Home, possessions, friends, status….

“But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of CHRIST. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my LORD, for Whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ – the righteousness that comes from GOD on the basis of faith.” – Philippians 3:7‭-‬9 NIV

We have to choose for ourselves what is most important, the things of man or the Salvation offered by Christ. By choosing to follow Jesus, we are accepting that we will be targeted by the enemy. HOWEVER, by choosing the Freedom of Christ, we are also ensured of a home with Him FOREVER, with NO pain, NO sorrow, and NO tears. Today is fleeting, and our lives on earth will end (soon!), but the eternity after death lasts forever and ever, Amen.

Photo credit: Mark Campbell, Big Sur, California 2017. Used with permission.