Tag: #JustAsIAm

Dating 🤔

“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 3:13‭-‬14 NIV

Will that prize include a companion here on earth? “Forgetting what is behind …..” Have you tried relationships, and they never seem to work out? Got a bad taste from people who have falsely represented themselves, taken advantage of you, and hurt you? For me, the goal is to measure anyone I might be interested in against The Christ. Not looks or success, and not by how the world views them. I want a relationship with someone who lives this verse:

“He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.” – Luke 16:10 NASB

Back to Paul’s advice:“Forgetting what is behind …..” We have to be very careful to differentiate between the past that we have put behind us (have we really put it behind us?) and the present we aspire to. Knowing how imperfect I am, and all of the mistakes I have made – and still make – can I judge someone else for not being perfect? Well, the answer is that yes, I absolutely can judge them, but then I am guilty of being unrighteous, in little and in much.

Life will never be easy. The question is, shall I try to make it easy on myself using my “superpowers” of control and perfection, or shall I let the real One take it, the One Who really is perfect and has complete control?

What do you think?

Just as I am

I am reasonably intelligent, and I believe I have at least a bit of common sense, yet I still tend towards depending on me and not GOD. I’ve been blogging a lot lately about my frustration and irritation; my fears and doubts arising from the major changes going on in my life. Yesterday, late afternoon, I received a call from my realtor that closing has been postponed for 7 days due to issues with the buyer’s financing. Keep in mind that by that point, in preparation for the movers, everything except a picnic basket, toaster oven, and French press for my coffee (an essential!!) – AND all my clothes, except 2 changes (I was moving today!) was packed and sealed in boxes.

Sad, broken hearted, sorrow; definitely a dark spot on my heart!

“Come out of sadness wherever you are, Come broken hearted let healing begin ….. Earth has no sorrow Heaven can’t heal …. Come as you are ……” by Crowder, on the album Neon Steeple.

Just as I am. Just as you are.

Are you stumbling over presumptions on the way to a better relationship with Jesus? What simple truth in your life have you made so complex that you can’t see God anymore? Are you not good enough? Need to straighten out your life first? Sins too great and too black; too broken for healing? Too much anger? Presumptions, every one – False presumptions that are fostered by the enemy to keep us away from the healing Mercy and Grace of the LORD!

“Just as I am, without one plea, But that Thy Blood was shed for me ….. Waiting not to rid my soul of one dark blot …… With many a conflict, many a doubt, Fighting and fear within without ….. O Lamb of GOD I come!” (Written by Charlotte Elliott and published in 1849, this is a hymn that has been sung in churches and Christian gatherings ever since.)

My first instinct upon receiving the call was to scream in frustration and cry out WHY!??? I wanted to rant and rave, possibly curse everyone involved, and jump onto someone’s desk – or some one – and physically beat on them. It would be so easy to fall into the anger and despair the enemy was pushing on me and to sin in that anger, separating myself from the LORD. All of that negativity was welling up, and for a minute (okay, more than a minute) I surrendered to it.

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” – Romans 8:28 ESV

I was not feelin’ it.

Some would say that by surrendering to the enemy, even for a minute, would cost me my salvation. Au Contraire, my friends! The sacrifice of JESUS on the cross washed away the sins of whoever accepts Him as SAVIOUR, Once and for all, and for all time!

I have His Salvation, the Hope for Eternity with my LORD, and nothing I say or do will change that; however, I can – and do – disappoint Him in my sinning. I have come to the cross on my knees, just as I am, in sadness and with a broken heart. I will always sin, but no worries! He has given me the Living Water and the Bread of Life.

“Jesus said to them, “I Am the Bread of Life; whoever comes to Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst. For this is the will of My FATHER, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have Eternal Life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” ” – John 6:35‭, ‬40 ESV

HALLELUJAH! I will trust in Him, my Rock and my Salvation, and He will carry me through this mess, too. 😊

Photo credit: https://fccdm.org

I Adore ….

“Yours, O LORD, is the Greatness, the Power, the Glory, the Victory, and the Majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is Yours, O LORD, and this is Your Kingdom. We adore You as the One who is over all things.” – 1 Chronicles 29:11 NLT

Complete this sentence: I adore __________.

Is this your verse, or is your adoration focused somewhere else? Where our focus is, is usually where our adoration is. Our kids, marriage, job, friends, shopping, food, even alcohol or sex – none of these is bad in themselves, but how much of our focus, our adoration, is left for our LORD? How about these – drugs, alcohol, self-gratification through sex or food, selfishness and greediness? When our focus is on these things, there’s no room left in our hearts or minds for adoration of the SAVIOUR. I don’t mean to say that when a person is immersed, buried, in one of these behaviors that they can just decide to change their focus, because that is rarely possible. Addiction of any kind is straight from Satan. He is continually fighting to keep our attention and adoration focused away from the LORD, and the best way to do that is to train our focus onto the highs he gives in those things.

How do we adore the GOD Who is over all things, when we can’t even lift our heads enough to see how miserable we are in our current “adoration”? It is definitely not easy! I follow a blog called beautybeyondbones. It is about a woman’s journey to break the addiction of anorexia and to come to a place where adoration of our LORD supercedes the adoration and worship of the disease. Again, this is not an easy task, because none of us chooses to be addicted to anything. I believe that true healing of any addiction, any disease, is only available through JESUS CHRIST, our LORD and SAVIOUR. Whatever the addiction, the disease, Satan will not let you out of it easily. When we put any other adoration in front of the ALMIGHTY GOD, we are falling into the enemy’s trap. He makes it so easy to fall, but hard to see that we are falling! Even though Satan tries to keep our eyes down on his path, the Hand of JESUS is extended down to us so the if – when – we open our eyes, He is right there, waiting to help us up and take our burden, that burden of the enemy that is keeping us bowed down from the weight.

Sometimes our only recourse, the only thing we can do at that point, is to breathe the Name of JESUS; JESUS, help me. As we begin pulling ourselves up with His help, we begin to see Hope and to have real Adoration for Him. As His Grace and Mercy begin to permeate our souls; as we see the Light and continue to reach for it, the enemy is pulling with all his might to keep us down. Relapse happens because walking upright while the enemy keeps loading us with regret and hopelessness and self-loathing is very difficult. When we look back, or down, we loosen our hold on JESUS, sometimes letting go completely. Because He is a gentleman, and because GOD has given us free will, He won’t drag us back to Him. It’s always our choice, but too often the enemy has such a hold that he can keep us mired in the addiction – BUT GOD has given us many tools to overcome the enemy and leave his focus, the false admiration, and to see and adore JESUS. Counselors, recovery groups, doctors – GOD gave them the talents and skills to help us recognize where our addictions begin, and what we can do to break the hold it has on us, giving us room to truly adore our SAVIOUR.

I spent many years under the spell of the enemy, wasting my life and “adoration” on me and my way, refusing to see that I was miserable and missing out on a good life, a great life, with my LORD. It took the intervention of family and friend’s prayers, Christian counselors, recovery groups, and even doctors who helped by providing medications to help me break the hold of the enemy. Sometimes I find myself focusing on the past, and I realize that my adoration of the CHRIST is slipping, and I lift my eyes to His Word to read His Truth and Mercy and Hope.

Did you answer the question? Have you figured out where your adoration lies today?

Listen to Zach Williams “Survivor;” Matt Maher’s “What A Friend We Have In Jesus,” and Phil Wickham’s “Living Hope.” TRUTH! Only our LORD JESUS CHRIST, the ALMIGHTY and EVERLASTING GOD, is worthy of our adoration. JESUS is the Living Hope – everything else is temporary and will pass away, including – especially including – our enemy. You LOSE, Satan – HALLELUJAH, and Praise the LORD, we are survivors!

“[I] adore You as the ONE who is over all things.”

El Greco “The Adoration of the Name of JESUS”

Image courtesy of The National Gallery, London

Hippies, Rock ‘n Roll, Free Spirits

Anybody relate to those words? I do! Livin’ the life, free to live, free to love…. I wonder how many others felt the tugs and restraints on their hearts that I did whenever I immersed myself in that life? I know it was GOD, holding me back from utter destruction, but I wrestled and fought Him enough to put myself in spiritual and physical danger many times. It is only by His Mercy and Grace that I am here today. There was more than one occassion where I know that the only reason I did not die was because of the angels who surrounded me and protected me. Satan had a tight grip on my soul and he did not want to let me go! An old (figuratively speaking 😎) rock and roller, Zach Williams, co-wrote a song called “Survivor” that resonates with my soul. The chorus goes like this:

“God Your Love came crashing in, And pulled me out of the the fire …. You’re my GOD, You’re my Fighter, You make me a survivor.”

I love that last sentence! I’m not a victim, I’m a survivor. Satan does his best to make us victims; GOD and GOD alone makes us survivors. What are you, victim or survivor? Just changing that word in your thinking can go a long ways to getting your heart free from the enemy! In the recovery program I was involved in, that distinction became very important, even critical, as I worked with women in the throes of their hurts, habits, and hangups. Changing your mindset can help you get started on the road to recovery. Taking the next step and accepting JESUS; asking Him to be your partner on the journey is the most important thing anyone will ever do. His Love will come crashing in, and He will pull you out of the fire….. I testify to that!

“Whoever believes in the SON has Eternal LIFE; whoever disobeys the SON will not see Life, but must endure GOD’s Wrath.” – John 3:36 NRSV

Free spirits, free love, rock and roll – we thought that would set us free in our lives. Instead, the enemy used those things ( and still does!) to bind us in chains. The only way – hold on, I need to repeat that, with emphasis – the ONLY WAY to break the chains, the ONLY WAY to escape the fires of the enemy, the ONLY WAY to be a true survivor rather than a victim, is to turn to JESUS CHRIST as your LORD and SAVIOUR. He is the Great Physician Who can heal our hurts and afflictions; He is the Lover of our Souls, and He wants only one thing: for us to accept Him so that we can spend eternity in the true paradise of Heaven. People say that we have ‘hell on earth’. I’m here to remind you that hell is not here, although it certainly seems like it sometimes. No, Hell is a very real place, a place of unimaginable horror and agony, and it, like Heaven, exists now and forever. If you truly think this is hell on earth, I shudder to think how you will perceive the reality of Hell when faced with it.

I encourage you to turn to JESUS today, right now. There’s an old hymn that my Dad had sung at the end of so many services; a hymn that I adore. Listen closely to these words:

  1. Just as I am, without one plea,
    But that Thy blood was shed for me,
    And that Thou bidst me come to Thee,
    O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
  2. Just as I am, and waiting not
    To rid my soul of one dark blot,
    To Thee whose blood can cleanse each spot,
    O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
  3. Just as I am, though tossed about
    With many a conflict, many a doubt,
    Fightings and fears within, without,
    O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
  4. Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind;
    Sight, riches, healing of the mind,
    Yea, all I need in Thee to find,
    O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
  5. Just as I am, Thou wilt receive,
    Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
    Because Thy promise I believe,
    O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
  6. Just as I am, Thy love unknown
    Hath broken every barrier down;
    Now, to be Thine, yea, Thine alone,
    O Lamb of God, I come, I come.