Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

What Do We See in the Mirror?

Every day we spend time looking at ourselves in the mirror.  We use it to see ourselves, to make sure things are in place, to apply our make-up, fix our hair, make sure there is nothing in our teeth, see if our tummy shows less with our top tucked in or out…we use it all the time, right?  But, when you look in the mirror what do you see?  I am positive that none of us see ourselves the way others view us.  We look for our own faults, and we tend to be much harder on ourselves than we are on others.  We look so that we can present ourselves to others looking the best we can.

I wish there was a mirror for my heart, one that would be honest with me and tell me who I really am on the inside.  See, our hearts are so deceitful; our hearts tell us what we want to hear.  I am pretty sure that my heart can convince me to believe anything that I want so that I can get my own way.  The Bible confirms this in Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”  And there is a mirror for our hearts too – the Bible.  The Word of God is likened to a mirror in James 1:23-25, “For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.”

The Bible exposes our hearts, who we are, what we’re like, what makes us think and behave the way we do.  The Bible shows us that we are sinners, and that left to ourselves we imagine wickedness, we may not always carry it out, but we sure think it! “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”  Genesis 6:5. What a horrible truth we must admit! “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  I Corinthians 15:57

I am a Christian.  By definition, that means that I should be like Christ.  As a born again believer I am a blood washed child of God – God is my Father, the Creator of the universe tells me I may go boldly to His throne of grace and make my requests known unto Him.  I may call Him Abba, Father – meaning I can call Him Daddy.  He loves me, He has a plan and a purpose for my life.  He has left me a Book of Instructions, a Love Letter like no other.  He has regened me and sealed my soul with His Holy Spirit until the day of redemption!  God has given me His Holy Spirit to guide me, comfort me, teach me, empower me, help me to remember the things God has taught me, convict me when I go astray – even in my thoughts!  That is so amazing!  God has equipped me so that I may fulfill His will, and have all that I need to accomplish great things for His honor and glory.

God left us here so that we may continue His work.  “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.”  John 14:12 Jesus came to seek and save that which was lost.  Our job is to do the same – seek the lost and lead them to the Saviour that died to save their soul.  That is our first and foremost purpose for being here.  When a soul is saved that glorifies the Father, when we witness to others of God’s greatness, he is pleased.

For the last several days I have had a burning thought on my heart.  My husband and I watched a filtered version of American Sniper.  What a story of patriotism!  Chris Kyle was definitely an American hero!  In one scene in the film he was home from one of his tours, and as he was driving with his family in the car – he said, “there is a war going on, people are dying, and I am going to the mall?” 

In my heart, the thought that has been brewing is that we, as Christians, are also in a war –

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;”

So, what do these two things have to do with each other?  Well, I thought about looking at myself -am I the soldier that God wants me to be?

We are admonished to put on the whole amour of God to protect us from the wiles of the devil, He works to trip us up and worry about things that don’t matter.  He is a master of diversion – like what magicians do – they get you to look at one thing so we won’t see them do their trick.  He gets us off track – and I would have to say that it sure seems that many Christians are off track right now. Our number one concern should be to yield to our Lord and Savior.  We have a sovereign and mighty God – He has a plan, a will, and a way for each of us; and if we yield ourselves and submit our will to His, He will lead us and guide us to do the things that He has for us.  To walk in close union with God doing His will brings peace, joy, and fulfillment in life that nothing else can ever offer.  We get caught up in the cares of this world that are vain.  I am not saying we can’t be concerned with things in this world – we just need to remember that is not our main purpose in life.  In other words – I can have a home and work to keep it clean and cared for, after all, I am to be a keeper at home; but my sole purpose in life should not be my house!  Not too long ago my husband made a statement in a message as he preached saying, “we should realize that there is a “soul” purpose in everything we do; we mustn’t think that God’s plan is as trivial as sending us to the store alone – it is so that we may reach someone with the gospel.”  Will everyone get saved?  No, but we should strive to give everyone the opportunity to get saved.  We should be giving out the gospel at every opportunity we get.  We may not be able to take the time to present the gospel to each person, but we can certainly give them a gospel tract so they can see what the Bible says about going to heaven.

Yet, Christians, how often do we take time apart from our day to day routine to stop and think that people are dying and going to hell, and it is our responsibility to warn them, to tell them “the good things God has done for us?”  We are in a mighty war striving through the power of God to save some from the burning, to keep people out of hell – and we are worried about trivial things that don’t matter.  Church leaders bicker over preferences, and the world watches and shakes their head in disbelief – I know because I have relatives that can’t believe that some preachers are unloving toward other Christians because of differences in clothing choices!   I absolutely have standards about what I wear and seek always to be modest, but in the grand scheme of things, it is more important that a person hear the gospel.

So, back to the mirror – let’s think about it for a minute here.  If the Bible is a mirror – how about the first thing we do is rely on the Bible and make it a part of our daily routine like we do with our mirrors at home.  I would venture to say that all of us look in a mirror every day – we don’t leave the house without it, right?  I believe it would make a huge difference in our lives if we rely on the mirror of the Word of God as much as we do the mirrors in our bathrooms.

When we look in our mirrors we hope to see an improvement after we put on our makeup, after we brush our hair – and when we see something out of place, we correct it.  When we see things out of place in our lives in the Bible we should do the same thing – we should correct what’s wrong.

As Christians what should we see?

We should see ourselves as loved and forgiven.

We should see ourselves as someone for whom God willingly and lovingly sacrificed His only begotten Son.

We should see ourselves as God’s children

We should see ourselves as someone that has a purpose in life:

·         to please and glorify our Heavenly Father because we love Him with all our heart, soul, and  might

·         to go into all the world and preach the gospel

·         pray on a daily basis, without ceasing

·         obey the Lord

·         Yield to the Lord

·         love others as we love ourselves

·         forgive as we are forgiven

While we have to admit, that we don’t always like what we see in the mirror – there is so much good to see in the mirror of God’s Word!  Let’s take the time to see it!

Have a wonderful day!

He Loves Me Like...

In God’s eyes, we are little children.  After all, a day with the Lord is a thousand years, and a thousand years is as a day…so by that standard, even someone that lives a good, long life – we never even live to be a day old! “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”  2 Peter 3:8

Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.  Mark 10:15

But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.  Matthew 19:14

Salvation requires child-like faith, upon salvation we are called the children of God.  “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.”  Galatians 3:26

As His children, He wants us to know that we can always go to Him.

Now, as moms, let’s think of the things we know about children

1. They need to feel loved
2. They are dependent
3. They don’t understand everything
4. They need comfort
5. They need security
6. They need nourishment
7. They need sunlight
8. They need sleep
9. They are learning
10. They are growing
11. They cry when they need something
12. They cry when they want something
13. They cry when they’re tired
14. They cry when they’re hungry
15. They make messes
16. They ask for help, especially when they don’t want to do something
17. They try to do things they are not ready to do
18. They are sponges that absorb everything they see and hear
19. They can be easily deceived, tricked, or fooled
20. We know they will fight, argue, and not always get along with their siblings
    
    
    
    

This is what we are…children!  We are all of those things to God, but we don’t always think about it, or even believe it…but it is true just the same!

Now, God is our Father – so let’s think about how He might feel about us

1. God loves us, Romans 8:38, 39 – “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
2.  He created us and loves it when we depend on Him
3. He gives us wisdom, knowledge, and understanding in His time, as we’re ready
4. “As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you.”
5. Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
6. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
7. Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
8. Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
9. He teaches us through His Word
10. He gives us His Word that we may grow thereby
11. He gave Himself and died for our sins because of His love for us – “while we were yet sinners Christ died for us”
12. He hears our cries and bottles our tears
    
13. He meets our needs
14. He promises to answer our prayers when we ask according to His Will
15. For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.
16. He put Romans 8:28 in the Bible to let us know that even when we mess up, good can come from it
17. He gives us trials and then gives us the strength to go through them
18. He warns us to “come out from among them and be ye separate” from the worldly influences that would endanger us
19. He gives us the Holy Spirit to protect us, who will lead us to all truth
20. He wants us to love one another

With that said, let’s remember that we are children, we need our Heavenly Father, and just like we long to hear from our children, God longs to hear from us.  Just as we long to have our children want to spend time with us when they’re grown, He wants us to want to spend time with Him. Just as we are pleased when our children do right and “make us proud,” God is pleased when we honor Him, but loves us just as fiercely even when we don’t – because He knows we’re children and that we make mistakes.

So, ladies, every morning, remember that you’re a child.  Go to your Father and get the help you need for the day.  Relish in the fact that He loves you unconditionally.  Accept that you’re a child that is dependent…believe it or not, that is very liberating.  So, live, laugh, love, and let God be your Abba, Father!

My Father has a great big family.
And there are many children besides me.
If you're wondering how He divides His time,
let me say I never stand in line.

He loves me like I was His only child,
never felt so loved before.
I could never ask for more.
He loves me like I was His only child. God really loves me.
Yes, He really loves me.
He loves me like I was His only child.

He never favors me above the rest.
But I can't help but feel that I am blessed.
He treats me best I often say.
But all my Father's children feel that way!

Have a wonderful day!

First Things First

First Things First. That’s the saying, right?  That’s the recipe for success when we start a project and set out to make the plan – we all have heard someone say, “first things first.”  When we want to organize and set up a new home, we use that same phrase.  Sounds almost redundant really, to say first things first – but, there is a reason; we don’t always want to do the things that are most important first – we want to do what we like to do or want to do first.  It is a lesson to ourselves to remind us that the first things we should do, are the things that are number 1 priority.

The truth is, we always do first things first.  By that I mean that we always do what is first to us first.  If you want to know what is really first in your life – look at your day, what did you choose to do first?  I believe the real test on seeing what is first is found by our choices. 

There are 3 things that motivate or dictate what we do:

1.       Pressing things.  These are the things that we have no control over, but demand our immediate attention – like a crying baby, an over-flowing toilet, an emergency.

2.       Responsibility.  These are the things that we must do as part of our responsibility.  I know that there are irresponsible individuals who ignore their responsibilities and just move on to choice – but this should be the next thing that determines our time and schedule.  We know that we must be at work at a certain time, have our children at school at a specific time, have certain tasks accomplished by an exact time or date…we build our schedule around these things.

3.       Choice.  This is the part of our days, our lives, that shows what is really first.  When we wake up in the morning what do we choose to do first? 

For the Christian we know that the first and great commandment is that we love the Lord with all that is in us. 

“Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”  Matthew 22:36-40

We also have been instructed to seek God first.

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”  Matthew 6:33

The very fact that putting the Lord first is a commandment proves that it is a choice – if it came naturally, we would not need to be told to do it.  You notice that we are not commanded to eat – that comes naturally, when we are hungry – we eat!  When we’re cold, we cover up, when we’re hot, we fan ourselves – caring for and loving ourselves comes naturally. 

Love, while we like to believe it is an emotion, is also a choice.  It is easy to love those with whom we get along, people that we have a lot in common with, people who share our views and values, our sense of humor, our ideals – but what about the unlovely, the grumpy, those uncharitable?  It is not easy to love “those” people, yet, we are commanded to love our neighbours as we love ourselves…that is a tall order!

If indeed we put first things first –it will make a marked difference in every aspect of our lives.  Imagine how life changing it is that Jesus said that on those 2 commandments, Loving God and loving others, hang ALL the law and prophets!  There are well over 600 commandments in the Bible, and yet if we put the law of love first we’ll be keeping all of them!

You may ask how can you choose to love God first, or how can we love people that are so soulfully ugly – the answer is that we must realize what love is – what true love is.

We know that God is love

We know that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son

We know that God commended His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners He died for us

We know that greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends

We also know that the attributes of love are:

Being Patient, Kind

Not envying or boasting

Is not proud

Does not dishonor others

Is not self-seeking or easily angered

Does not keep record of wrongs

Doesn’t delight in evil

Rejoices in truth

Always protects, trusts, hopes, and perseveres

Love never fails

“Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.

16  And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. We love him, because he first loved us.

20  If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?

21  And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.

1 ¶  Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.

2  By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.

3  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.” I John 4:15 -5:3

So, first things first? Receive the gift of Salvation purchased for us by the blood of Christ – that is the greatest gift of love ever given, and upon receiving that love we are then capable of giving true love - the love of God that works in us and allows us to love others. 

Will you receive that gift of love that Christ purchased for us when He died on the cross?  Will you choose to love the Lord evidenced by your obedience to Him?

It is my prayer that you understand that this is written with love for you and especially for our Saviour that laid down His life for you and for me so that we could be with Him forever in eternity.

“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God…”  1 John 3:1

Have a wonderful day!

Empty Nest

When birds build their nests, they instinctively know that they will have to build a new nest, or remodel their nest for a place to abide when the birds fly the coupe.  One of the things that many women struggle with is what we call the “empty nest syndrome.”  As an empty nester for over 10 years, I know the syndrome well.  Fortunately, I have learned to build a new nest instead of sorrowing over the fact that my baby nest is empty.

I believe that one of the reasons women do struggle so much is because we, unlike our bird friends, do not prepare or even consider that we will have a need for a different type of nest.  From the minute, our babies are conceived they are in our hearts to stay – nothing separates us from the love that we have for our children.  However, every step in life is a step towards our children leaving the nest. 

1.        They leave the womb
2.        They sleep in their own beds
3.        They begin to crawl and walk
4.        They go to school, get involved in sports and get jobs
5.        They learn to drive
6.         They go to college
7.        They get married and establish their own homes

Isn’t it amazing that it can be reduced to just 7 simple points?  Of course at first, our children are so completely dependent on us – for everything!  Little by little, they eat on their own, they go potty on their own, they learn to read and think on their own, they spend more and more time away from us – and yet, we are never ready to let them go!

So, how can we fix this?

Well, first of all, no matter how prepared we are we will still miss our “babies” and always fondly remember the cute little munchkins and miss that special time in our lives.  So, just to be clear, this is in no way any kind of lesson on how to “not be sad” when our kids move away…that ain’t gonna happen! But – what I am trying to accomplish is to help other ladies have a fulfilling life so that the emptiness is an accepted and anticipated life with a prepared nest. So, here goes.

1.        Make sure you have a walk with God and ask Him to direct your thoughts, to comfort your heart, and to fill the emptiness you feel

2.       Always, always, always remember that you and your husband were sweethearts before the kids, you married and became one, and when the kids are gone it will be the two of you once again – so keep the romance alive!

3.       Have a ministry that you love and are willing to invest your time and talents to grow

4.       Have a good communicating relationship with your kids

a.       Spend time listening to them without always have to correct their opinions

b.       Support and encourage them in their plans and dreams

c.       Pray, pray, pray for them and let them know you’re praying for them – so get requests from them.  (and I don’t mean that every time they tell you something you don’t like that you respond by saying, “I am praying for you” so that they feel judged more than loved and covered by God’s protection and guidance)

5.       Make plans for things you’d like to do when you have no kids in your home – and as the time approaches, begin to prepare for implementation

6.       Pray and ask God to give you grace for your new life

7.       When the last one leaves, go on a vacation with your hubby to establish your new life without kids

Now, with all of that said, please remember that it is never easy to let your kids go…and the further they go, the harder it is.  The Lord was very gracious to us in allowing us to have all of our married children close to us for the first many years that our kids were married.  Then, in 2008, things changed!  Our youngest son and his family moved from California, and being our nearest neighbor, all the way to North Carolina!  Honestly, the day we took them to the airport and had to say “goodbye” still brings tears to my eyes.  For the first several months, every time I spoke to them on the phone I cried because my heart yearned so deeply to have them near.  In time, the Lord helped me to appreciate the precious time we do spend together, and I am so thankful that He has allowed us to visit them at the very least once a year for 10 days or so.

For the last several years we have lived 90 miles away from our 3 other children families, and my husband has been great at making sure we could visit them very regularly – and so even though they were not living in our neighborhood, or serving together with us in church, we have been able to have our children in our lives in spite of the miles.  Last night we said our very tearful and sad goodbyes as another one of our kids’ families is moving to North Carolina to begin a new chapter as staff members at a very good church there.  In my heart, I am happy for their life choices, but feel so sad that they will be so far away! 

The empty nest is an adjustment because we feel a loss and by definition “empty” is a sad word.

Empty: containing nothing; having none of the usual or appropriate contents; destitute of people or human activity.

So, remember that the first point in helping adjust is to have that walk with God?  I promise you that as you walk closely with your precious Lord, He will keep every promise He has given!

Here are a couple promises that He offers:

“Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.”  Luke 6:21

“As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem.”  Isaiah 66:13

Have a wonderful day!

What Was I Looking For? …a continued thought

How I love God’s Word.  For years I have always considered, believed, counted on, and depended completely on God’s Word – every day for everything. Continuing from my posting yesterday, this year in my goal to “Seek” I have approached my Bible with a desire to truly search and seek God.  Of course at different stages of our lives, and through various paths along our journey as we read the Bible we seek different things, and we view things differently.

When I first got saved I sought truth and knowledge.  I wanted to be a good wife, and a good mother, a good church member – and I sought the Bible to help me to try to be all of those things. I wanted to know what the Bible said, and I wanted to learn the truth.  For many years I had an idea about who I thought God was, what I thought He might want, and viewed life on my own terms.  Sadly, I believe that many Christians view the Bible that same way – through their own terms.  More and more I find people searching for loop holes so they can adapt to this world instead of fully relying on the Bible and the guidance of the Holy Spirit to lead and direct their choices.

During the trials in my life I sought the Bible for comfort; and what a comfort it has proven and continues to be for me.  Over and over again the Lord met my needs through His precious Word.  There is not a person alive that could convince me that the Bible is not alive – for indeed the Bible is the Living Word of God! 

Now, while I know that the Bible was written for us – certainly God did not need to write things down to remember them – as He is all knowing, BUT – what I have realized is that I have always used the Word of God to see how it will benefit ME – even in my Bible reading I have remained self-centered.  In every Bible story I looked for what I could do to get the blessing, to get the success, to get the goods for me – rather than instead looking at all that God does, what He has done, how marvelous He is.

This year, as I seek the Lord, with every Bible story instead of looking at what this person did and what that person got – the Lord is showing me what He did.  Let me illustrate.  In the story of David and Goliath.  When reading and teaching that account, I always taught the kids about David’s faith in God – which is a good thing, but I believe instead I should have taught the kids to focus on the fact that God did that – God used a kid and a single stone to take down a giant!  When I face a crisis – instead of trying to be like David, how about I trust that God can do what needs to be done by whatever means He so chooses? I believe that honors the Lord much more than striving to do what other men have done.  Parents, I hope you will incorporate this thought as you teach your children - teach them to look for and seek Christ in every thing - not man.  Let's raise kids to have faith in God, and to seek Him for the answers.

In Romans 15:4, the Bible says “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.”  This shows me that the Bible is written to teach me and show me my source of hope – The Lord, Jesus Christ.  Jesus said, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”  John 5:39. Jesus made it abundantly clear that the Scriptures teach of Him and that in “all the Scriptures” we should be learning of Him in Luke 24:27, “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.”

For me, at this point in my life, as we are church planting missionaries on deputation, as we plant churches, our desire is to point folks to Christ. "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.”  Jesus said this speaking of Himself, of His hanging on the cross, His death, burial, and resurrection – however, I believe that as we continue to lift Him up, He will draw all men to Himself.  It is our prayer to reach the lost in this world by giving them the Gospel of Jesus Christ!  “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth;…”  Romans 1:16

Have a Wonderful Day!

Who's It All About?

This year, 2016, my theme, my goal is to “seek” Jesus, the Lord, in everything.  Now, I know that I am a Christian and have sought the Lord for nearly 31 years.  I am thankful that through the years, I have grown closer to the Lord, and He has done so many amazing things in me, through me, and most especially FOR me!  This year, in my “seeking” the Lord has shown me what probably every other Christian knows and I have just been too self-focused to notice. 

 

I am sharing this because it has helped me tremendously and I pray that those of you like me that never “looked” at the Bible through this view may be helped also.  You see, for the first 27 years of my life, I was raised in a religion that never focused on the Bible at all.  It was something that I was never encouraged to read or study, and I was simply told what my religion told me I needed to know about it – and as long as I followed their rules, I would be “okay.”  Then, on May 9, 1985, I was born again.  I received the Lord as my Saviour after my loving friend, Corinne Turner and her husband showed me what the Bible said about salvation, going to heaven, and my sin condition.  I was so elated to know that I could go to heaven and that the burden of trying to get there was not on my shoulders – because that morning – that very morning, I realized that I was not going to be able to get there on my own merit.  I realized, I am sure because of the folks that were praying for my soul, that I would not go to heaven.  It was a fearful place to be to know the truth of my destiny without knowing the only remedy to change it.  You can only imagine how I felt to learn the truth – it indeed made me free! 

Then, you can further only imagine what I felt when I got home to receive a phone call from my husband’s dying grandmother telling me that she felt well enough that day to go out and that she was impressed upon to buy me a Bible!  Can you imagine getting saved, and then finding out that while you were asking the Lord to save you, that He was using an 80-year old, terminally ill grandmother to buy you a Bible?  Wow!

On that day, I determined that if God made it that evident that the Bible was important for me to have, that I would make sure to read it.  I still remember the first day I started reading a Proverb a day – it was May 20, 1985…I still remember that every time I read that Proverb.  God’s Word is so precious to me.  I have made it a point to read it cover to cover every year – at least once every year since that time.  So, you would think with all of that – this new epiphany in my life would have happened a long time ago!

So, what is it, who is "IT" all about? 

The Bible is not about man…it is about God, God the Father, God, the Son, and God, The Holy Spirit!  The story of creation is not about Adam and Eve – it is about how God created them!  The story of Adam and Eve’s fall is not about me – it is about God’s provision to pay for sin!  Noah and the Ark – is about showing us God’s mighty power!  Every story in the Bible is to show us God and His greatness!  Jesus said, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”  John 5:39.

I hear people speak of doing things to gain favor, but Jesus was saying, was teaching here that while we are searching for eternal life – God is showing us the answer, the testimony of Jesus.  The whole Bible is a testimony of what Jesus has done!

I know that in most stories we will see a type of Christ, we will see a picture of the death, burial, and resurrection, but I still was looking at the men rather than the Saviour.  I would try to be like the men in the Bible so I could get the outcome that I hoped for.  The Lord has shown me, that each of these accounts, show what God can do.  In every person’s life – the answer was and is Jesus, and what He can do in spite of us.  In every biblical account – our awe should be in the realization that Jesus did that!

He created, He knows everything, He is everywhere, He is alone worthy to be glorified…I am saying things I’ve always said, but they have new meaning.  You see, now instead of looking at David and how he used a sling – it is God using a willing vessel to get His will done.  We are just so bent on looking at what we can see!  I know that sounds ridiculous – but “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”  Every account in the Bible is evidence of Jesus, that He is God, that He is the One that has the solutions!   

 

“Now the man out of whom the devils were departed besought him that he might be with him: but Jesus sent him away, saying, Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee. And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him. And it came to pass, that, when Jesus was returned, the people gladly received him: for they were all waiting for him.”  Luke 8:38-40

 I stand amazed, I stand amazed;
Of the love that has sought me, saved me and bought me,
I stand amazed.

Read your Bible, and seek Jesus – you will find Him everywhere, in all things, and you will realize a greater love for Christ.

Have a wonderful day!

Fulfilled

It seems that so many Christians today want to all but discard the Old Testament.  When we practice a principle, or hold a standard based on verses from the Old Testament we hear, “oh, but that is the Old Testament.”  Yet, in the verses I have quoted below – we see that Jesus taught us that He did not come to destroy the law, but rather to fulfill it.  I believe that teaches us that the demands the law made in punishment were fulfilled when Jesus died on the cross.  However, I believe it also teaches us that while the punishment for breaking the law was paid, it does not mean that we don’t have to observe or obey the law.  As an example, in the law when a child disobeyed they were to be publicly punished, stoned to death.  Now, Jesus paid the death, but God still wants children to obey their parents.  

God intends for us to use the Old Testament, because It testifies of Jesus.  The disciples used the Old Testament to preach the gospel and the world was turned upside down.  The law demanded perfection, absolute obedience for one trying to earn God’s favor, and death for disobedience.  Jesus fulfilled all of those when He "did always those things that pleased the Father," "He was obedient unto death, even the death of the cross," and He indeed died for our sins… then He arose victorious over sin!

So, I say all of that to say – read the Old Testament, look for the Testimony of Jesus, the Gospel, and learn the attributes of God from It – and while you’re reading It, praise the Lord, for in Jesus the law is fulfilled!

"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil." Matthew 5:17

"Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me." John 5:39

Have a wonderful day!