Posts tagged faith
August 14, 2011 · Filed under Christian Living, Life, Redemption, Religion, Servanthood, Trust · Tagged endurance, faith, Faithful, God, Jesus, trials, trust
One of my favorite passages of scripture is found in 2 Timothy 11-13. It reads like this:
“If we die with him we will also live with him. If we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us. If we are faithless, he will remain faithful for he cannot disown himself.”
These are such awesome verses! Just read them again slowly and let them sink it. To die is to live with Christ if you are a believer. To endure our hardships means we can reign with him. Let’s stop right here for a minute. How many of you are in a hard place right now? How many of you feel like you are facing a mountain you cannot get over? Our faith is something that must be developed. How is faith developed? Through trials. It is when we are at our most vulnerable with no where to turn and nothing we can do that God says “Finally! Now, I can do what I need to do!” Through our dark times…those dark nights that we all encounter…that’s when the light of Jesus can shine through.
An athlete works their body day in and day out to finally meet their goal. Yet, even when they meet their goal they don’t stop. There is another goal in sight. They want to continue to become better and better. So it should be with our faith. We may overcome one hurdle…but rest assured another will be on it’s way. Push through, depend on God, and remember how you overcame the last one; it will help you to get through the present one.
Now, I want to skip to the last part of this passage. If we become faithless he will remain faithful because he cannot disown himself. Some versions read “he cannot deny who he is”. God is ever faithful to us. Period. His word says it. He can’t be unfaithful. It goes against his personality. What does this mean for you? Well, it means that even when you feel He is not there…He still is. It means even when you throw in the towel and decide you don’t want to follow him….He is still there for you. Ever loving and ever faithful. It means that when those dark clouds loom overhead and you feel the darkness closing in…He is there waiting to whisper the words “Peace! Be still.” He is always faithful….even when we aren’t. He is ever faithful…even though we don’t deserve it. Take heart tonight…He is there.
July 22, 2011 · Filed under Christian Living, Life, Redemption, Religion, Servanthood, Trust · Tagged Call of God, Christian Living, faith, redemption, regret, trust
Peter gets a bad rap. You know…Peter…the one who denied Jesus 3 times on the night he was crucified. People love to talk about Peter whimping out on Jesus, his friend and teacher, when Jesus needed him most. This is true. However, remember how Peter regretted it and remember that Peter became one of the most influential persons in the Bible ever! God will still use us even when we fail him.
I began to think about Peter the other night and wondered how he felt day in and day out living with that regret. Knowing that what Jesus had predicted came to pass as that rooster crowed a third time. I like to put myself in a Bible story when I read it; it helps me to grasp it. I can see Jesus in the hands of the religious people…I can see Peter telling a person “no! I don’t know who He is and I have never followed him!” About that time….in the distance….a rooster crows. This is the third crow Peter has heard in just a few hours. He turns, looks at Jesus and realizes…the prophecy has come to pass. Jesus looks at him… not with judgment or anger. No, he looks at Peter with love. He looks at Peter with forgiveness. He looks at Peter because he knows how it feels to be human. He knows the temptation, the fear, the doubt, and the hurt of being human. And he understands. He wasn’t mad at Peter. On the contrary, he knew that now…now that Peter had fallen…now Peter would be used beyond all comprehension. Even Peter could not fathom how he would be used in the kingdom of God. You see, in the words of Kay Warren, that “Kingdom of Me” must fall. That pride and that self preservation that we have.
Jesus doesn’t get mad at us. He doesn’t hold our failures against us. So…why do we do that to ourselves? When Jesus forgives, He forgives. Why do we beat ourselves up? I wonder if Peter lived with that regret every day for the rest of his life. I can imagine he did. But, he let that regret and that determination to never let God down again drive him to becoming a great man of God. Can we do this? Can we let our failures go? If we can’t let them go…can we let them drive us to not make the same mistake again? Can we allow them to mold us into the person we are called to be?
I don’t want to give Peter a bad rap anymore. I think Peter did pretty good myself. Ok…he made a mistake. Ok…he made a really big mistake. But…so have you and so have I. We all make mistakes…we all have regrets. We are human. Jesus understands that because he was too.
October 8, 2010 · Filed under Christian Living, Life, Praise, Redemption, Religion, Servanthood, Trust · Tagged Christianity, faith, God, Jesus, Plan, redemption, Religion, trust
…..I left off with Rahab. Now I want to introduce you to a man named Saul. Saul hated Christians. I mean he hated them; it was his main goal in life to kill them, to hurt them, to destroy them. But God had a different plan. One day Saul was on his way to Damascus and a bright light appeared to Him. He dropped to his knees and said “who are you Lord?” The voice said “I am Jesus who you are persecuting.” Then Jesus told him to go to Damascus and wait. After that, God spoke to a Christian man Ananias. He told Ananias to go to Damascus to Saul of Tarsus. Ananias was like “eh…are you sure Lord? Do you know who this guy is?!?!? He will kill me and enjoy every minute of it!!! “ (my paraphrasing). God was like “GO!” Ananias obeyed. When Ananias got to Saul the Bible says he laid his hand on Saul and something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes. Saul was filled with the Holy Spirit and became a Christ follower. Interestingly enough, God had told Ananias that He (God) was going to show Saul how much he must suffer for Christ. And suffer he did. Saul became Paul and suffered beatings, imprisonment, ship wrecks, storms, persecution. But, God always had a plan! Paul wrote a significant part of the New Testament and is responsible for spreading the Gospel over a huge amount of land! What an amazing testimony of the grace of Jesus Christ! God had a plan for Saul to become Paul. Out with the old, in with the new.
Now, to a man named Jesus. Jesus was born in a manger to a virgin. The world was not lying in wait for him as stories like to make us think. No, there was chaos all around. The scene Jesus entered into was a scary one. But rest assured God had a plan. Jesus grew. He was a son, a friend, a brother, a leader. He was led into temptation by Satan himself and tempted so that He would know how you and I felt. He was beaten, belittled, sworn at, spat at, and hung on a cross. But God had a plan. What was that plan? As Jesus stretched out His arms and said “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” God looked down the road 2,000+ years later and saw a messed up young woman named Kim calling on His name. He saw her; hurt and beaten down by life, He saw her at her wit’s end. He saw her hurting and needing a healing from the inside out. And as Jesus took his last breath and said “it is finished” the veil in the temple ripped from top to bottom granting US total access to God the Father, something that until that moment had not been accessible to anyone other than the high priest. The sky grew dark. The Earth began to shake and the very people who had killed him said “surely this was the Son of God!” As this happened, He looked down the road and saw humanity in all their weakness, needing a savior. Perhaps He saw you, at your wit’s end; calling on His name saying “Jesus! I just can’t do this by myself! I need you!” Yes, there was a plan. There has always been a plan. It’s a plan of redemption. It’s a plan of mercy and grace. Above that, it’s a plan of love.
Let me assure you. I don’t know where you are. I may know you, I may not. But, I do know Jesus. And, Jesus knows you. I do know that He always has a plan. He had one for Moses, he had one for Rahab, he had one for Saul, and He had one for Jesus. He has one for me and he has one for you. He already paid the price. All you have to do is accept the gift.
October 2, 2010 · Filed under Christian Living, Redemption, Religion, Trust · Tagged Christian Living, Disciples, faith, God, Jesus, Paul, redemption, Religion, Satan, Serpent
I was reading Acts the other day and read a story that I have read a hundred times before, but this time it really struck me. It is in Acts 28. Paul, after surviving a shipwreck finally gets to the island of Malta. He builds a fire and as he gathered brushwood a snake, who was driven out by the heat, bit him. Actually, my version states “it fastened itself to his hand”. But then (read this carefully!) Paul simply shook the snake off of his hand! The islanders who were watching started talking amongst themselves saying that surely this man must be a murderer because he escaped the sea, but now justice was not letting him live. In their thoughts, fate had jumped in.
Now there’s a couple of things here we need to examine. First, in the Bible the serpent usually represents evil or Satan; keep that in your mind. I can just see it now, Paul was exhausted from a storm in the sea and being shipwrecked and is thinking to himself “ahhh, I am finally gonna get warm and get my belly full” and then a snake bites him! Paul was like “are you kidding me?!?!? I don’t think so! God didn’t bring me this far to let me get bit by a snake and die!” So, he simply shook it off! This is how we need to be with satan. He has no power if you are a born again child of God. He has already been defeated! Shake him off. Look at him like Paul did when he looked at the snake and say “uh….no I don’t think so! Get off of me!”
Secondly, we need to look at the islanders. They immediately looked at what was happening to Paul and assumed he was being punished for something. Remember Job? His friends did the same with him. People in your life will do the same with you. They will look at you when you are going through troubles and wonder why. Then they will wonder how you are going to react. How are you going to face troubles thrown at you? How are you going to react to the snake when he comes?
As the islanders see that Paul is not going to die, they began to look at him as a God. People will watch us. When they see that you are coming out of a storm, that you shook off the enemy, that you kept a good attitude while being attacked, they will look to you. This is your chance to show them that no, I am not a God…..but I can show you THE God.
So, my question to you is this; how will you react when the snake comes your way? Will you just shake him off and keep going? Will you weather the storms in your life hidden in the shelter of the most high God (Psalm 91) and when people ask….will you point them to the true, living God?
So today…..let me encourage you to go ahead……do a little shaking.
September 21, 2010 · Filed under Christian Living, Life, Praise, Religion, Servanthood, Trust · Tagged blessings of God, faith, God, Jesus, money, Religion, servanthood, trust
I was having lunch with a friend the other day (you know I lovingly refer to myself as a professional luncher) and we began to talk about the blessings of God. We then began to exchange some stories about how God got the blessings to us and how funny those ways can turn out to be. I have had people leave me money in my mailbox and on my front door. I have come out of work and found a receipt under my windshield wiper showing my power bill was paid in full. I had someone hand me a Gideon Bible one time with a $500.00 check in it. I, in turn bless others when I can. God is so cool! When we focus on Him and do as the Bible says “seek Him and His righteousness first” (Matthew 6:33) then He WILL take care of us!
So, this friend tells me that she was running low on gas one day last week and she began to pray to God to please help her have the gas to get home and to go see a friend who was in need of a visit. So, all of a sudden she runs into a mailbox with her rear view mirror! Her window was down (undoubtedly she was trying to conserve gas by not running the air) and glass comes flying into her car!!! Of course, no one was hurt. She began to think that she was just clean it up when she got home, but something told her to pull into a nearby parking lot and begin to clean it up there. So, she did (she is an awesome woman of God and felt the prompting of the Holy Spirit). Well, beside her tire laid a $10.00 bill!!! Some may say that it was chance. I don’t think so. I think God was taking care of His child. Before anyone freaks out on me……I know God doesn’t cause harm and wouldn’t cause her an accident!!!!!! BUT, I do know that God can use anything for good. So, I thought it was pretty cool. I think God is cool. I think He can surprise us to no end if we just seek Him.
My husband and I have been through some major financial battles through our 18 years of marriage. I had brain surgery, our daughter had a major jaw surgery, she wore braces for over 8 years, we have the loss of jobs, etc. I have just learned to trust. I have learned that worry (in the words of Jesus) does not add a day to my life. I can’t control what happened yesterday and I can’t really control what will happen tomorrow. What I can control is how I react. I can choose to react with faith. I can choose to react with thanksgiving even when things look really, really bad. And, as I do that, God has shown me time and time again that He really is for me. He is faithful, even when I don’t deserve it. He is so cool and I love serving Him with everything I have. Be blessed!
Just a thought….
April 1, 2010 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged faith, life, perseverance
Oh yes my friends, it is that time of year. We clean out all the stuff, clean all the dust away, bring out the summer wear and start dieting so we can fit into them 
Uh-huh, don’t even act like you don’t!!! But, what about our spiritual junk? We need to get rid of that too! You have to walk away from the bad and walk into the good.
You have to let the baggage go and walk into what God has called you to. There is work to be done, and we are the ones to do it! We can’t do it with mess in our spirits. So, while you are doing your spring cleaning on the outside, pray and seek God so that He can help you clean up the inside. Remember, you are called for such a time as this and if you are called He WILL equip! Get rid of that junk and get on with the Father’s business!!!!
March 31, 2010 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged faith, life, perseverance, relifion, stress
Today, I am stressed. This week has been a very trying week for me. There has been one thing after another after another. School, work, illness, money woes, teens….well I could go on, but I won’t bore you. I find myself longing for bed time each night. Have you ever had a week like that? What kind of human would I be if I never admitted I had a bad week? I wouldn’t be a normal human for sure. It can’t be all doves and roses all the time. We all have bad days, weeks, months. It’s what we do with them that matters. It’s how we react. Here’s the thing. Satan CANNOT read your mind! He is not omniscient, omnipresent, or all knowing. To be so would mean that he is on the same wavelength as God. We all know that is not so. So, what does Satan “go” by? Many times, he goes by our reactions. Something happens to us and Satan (or one of his do-boys LOL) are sitting there waiting to see “how is she gonna take this?” He wants to know where our faith is. Are we going to claim the word of God over our lives or are we going to poor me…….WHY GOD???? WHY ME???? I sadly, have done both. This is when knowing the word of God comes in. If the word is hidden in our hearts…..at the perfect time it will come forth. We will know that Jesus is there, in our most stressful week, saying “peace, be still.” I love the song that says “sometimes he calms the storm and other times he calms His child”. There are times we have to go through things. Not around them….the Bible says “though I go THROUGH the valley…” Sometimes there is no other way but through. It is in those times, though, that my faith has grown. It has been in the hard times that I have planted my feet and declared that no matter what, I will serve the Lord. I will see the battle through…..I WILL simply trust. That’s what it comes down to….trust. Do we trust Him to bring us through the bad weeks? Do we trust that no matter how it ends, it is all for His glory? Do we trust that He loves us enough that He always, always has our best interest at heart? If we do, then the bad weeks, the stressful days, well they won’t seem quite as bad. Psalm 85:8 says “I will listen to what God the Lord will say; he promises peace to His people, His saints.” I think that’s enough said.
Here’s wishing you a stress free God filled rest of the week…….
March 29, 2010 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged faith, life, past, perseverance, trust
Your Past Needs to Stay Your Past
Have you ever been going through your Christian life smoothly and then—BAM!!!—something happens that in turn brings up something from your past that you really wanted to forget for good and never think of again??? Well, of course you have, especially if you are a Christian. This is the enemies number one plot against us. He loves to make us remember times that we have hurt people or times we have done something so bad it makes us want to vomit to think that we are capable of such things. He loves to bring to our remembrance things we have said and done that would make us seem so inadequate as a Christian that we can’t fully accept God’s love or His plan of redemption.
But I have good news for you…..this is not what Jesus has called you to be, feel, or do. When you accept Christ as your personal savior, all of that is wiped clean. His word says he was make us as white as freshly fallen snow. That is not to say that people forget what you were or things you did. However, they can see you as the new creation you are. They will probably doubt for a while that you have really changed, and that’s ok. Just keep living for God–they’ll see the change.
Leave your past in the past where it belongs…..except for when it is being used by God to bring honor and glory to His name. Times when you can share what you used to be to and things you used to do to bring honor to God (and God will open chances for you to do that). He has cleansed you, saved you, and loves you more than you could ever imagine. Don’t allow the enemy a chance to come in and remind you of your mistakes to make you feel bad…..instead remind him that the Word of God says that God uses all things that the enemy meant for destruction and uses it for good, remind him that Christ says He makes all things new—and that includes you…
March 27, 2010 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged blessing, faith, life, martyr
I was reading my “Voice of the Martyrs” magazine last night. It talked about a man from North Korea who crosses the river into China to bring home one Bible at a time. He then takes them to his back yard and buries it. He has a total of 6 Bibles now. He said when the time is right, he will pass them out and he knows at that point he will be killed. You see, North Korea is the MOST dangerous place in the world to live, especially if you are a Christian. The people are made to worship their leader from the time they are in grade school. This gentlemen also has written down by hand copies of pages from the Bible in order to memorize it. Why? He said this way he can hide the word in his heart and it can’t be stolen from him. I felt many emotions while reading this. I was angry, sad, and convicted. Most of us an Americans have more than 1 Bible in our home. I know our home has about 10. Yet, some days we act as if we have to read the Bible, as if it is a chore or something we must do. Some of us never read them at all, except on Sunday while in church. Yet, we have brave brothers and sisters all over the world who literally beg for a Bible and yet can’t have one because they will be killed if caught with this book. We need to realize how blessed we are. We need to have the desire to know God and His word the way these people do. Above all, we need to pray for these persecuted people. People who are willing to risk their lives in order to spread the Gospel. If you are not a subscriber of Voice of the Martyrs, I encourage you to become one. It is free to receive their mailings, and they are truly humbling. You may sign up here : VOM
March 26, 2010 · Filed under Religion · Tagged faith, obedience, Religion
From ages 5 to 8 I was molested by a family friend. I NEVER told anyone…including my husband. I was at a women’s conference and God spoke to me telling me that He was going to use this part of my testimony. My first job? To tell my mom. I remember taking her to Golden Corral for a coke and just blurting it out…..she just sat there and looked at me. Then she said “that explains a lot.” That’s it?? That’s all I get? Really??? No tears or I’m so sorry….nothing????? But for her, that’s all that needed to be said. It explained to her why I had been a depressed teen. It explained why I ended up pregnant at 17. It explained to her why when she asked me one time “what would make you happy!?” I looked at her and honestly said “I don’t know.” I didn’t know. I had no idea. I had so much anger and guilt built up within me I didn’t even know where to start.
Well, from that day on, God began to use this part of me. I spoke at a ladies’ convention and had a seventy something year old lady come up to me and tell me that her dad had molested her and she had never told anyone until then! Can you imagine how in awe I felt that God could use something so bad for His good??? Then I spoke on forgiveness at our youth group and used this as my example. I was scared to death they were going to laugh or poke fun at me for what had happened. I had 12 kids come forward that night! I told them “I would go through it all again to know that I could help you guys.” I meant that. I have learned that once I took the step God told me to take….once I obeyed and began to LET HIM use this, it was all turned around for good. What is He telling you to do right now? What are you not obeying? What is holding you back? Fear? Guilt? Don’t let the enemy steal anything more from you. Obey God and watch Him work!
