Category: Faith

Everything in Love

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Do everything in love. 1 Corinthians 16:14

Only 4 little words – but these 4 words really tell us exactly what Jesus tries to teach us. These 4 little words teach us that everything, not just what we want, but that everything is to be done in love.

Our lives include many people and maybe many people groups. They include our home life, our jobs or school life, our social life and even ministry. They include mornings, afternoons and evenings. And during these times and with these many people we may be associated with, we are filled with feelings and emotions of all sorts. These feelings and emotions can jump all over the place – they can have us up, excited, down, angry and many more!

So the bible tells us to love through it all. We are to love when we are up, we are to love when we are down. We are to love when we are in pain and when we are weak. We are to love when we are angry, we are to love when we are emotionally hurt. We are to love when disaster strikes. And we find that these are the times when loving is the most difficult.

So how do we truly love during these times? By keeping our focus on God Himself – for God is love. When we realize that He is love and He is the one giving love and He Himself is what we give when we give love, then I find loving is easier.

Realizing there is no pain with love for God is love – I find loving easier. When I realize the pain Jesus had to endure to love, I find it easier. And it is only through faith in Him that I can truly love during these times. It is through faith in Christ that I can love the unlovable.

Today I love because of these 4 little words: Do everything in love!

Praise – a Sacrifice??

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Why does scripture use the words, “a sacrifice of praise”? In fact, I l love a time of praise and worship! But when I think about it, there are times when praising does not come easy.
Not a morning goes by when we do not hear of suffering in the world. There is grief and loss in this world almost minute by minute. Why? For one, we are an imperfect people – sin has followed our footsteps since the time of Adam and Eve. Death and disease surround us and visits the lives of many family members and even friends. Praise then seems far from us.
I’ve heard it said it is easier to praise God in times of joy, especially when sorrow and need are behind you. Life can become so welcoming and happiness seems to overtake you in every direction. When everything in life is filled with more than enough, we can find ourselves full of ourselves. Praise and worship then take a vacation for no pain means many times no praise.

Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. Hebrews 13:15

So then let us offer praise continually as God’s Word instructs – not just when we feel like it, not just when we’re in need or not just when life is going our way. Let us offer Him our praise because He deserves it. Yes, praise does become then a sacrifice.
The New Testament shares new life – new life in Christ. It’s about the sacrifice Jesus Christ has given for us – His very life for our life. Our life should then be full of sacrifice for him – and especially the sacrifice of Praise!

A Man of Weakness

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1 Peter 5:10 May the God of all grace, who has called us to eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish strengthen and settle you.

I love Peter! He was a man of frailties just like us. He made mistakes like us, suffered like many and yet became a faithful man of God. I guess we have all, at one time, thought of Peter as the disciple who denied the Lord three times as Jesus had predicted. But God we know, called him in the beginning, redeemed and set him apart for the work of the gospel. Yes, he is for me easy to relate to.

The suffering he experienced was to him not suffering as much as he would call it sacrifice. He believed in a life sacrificed for the one he served. And in his letter of 1 Peter, he lets us know his journey and his trust and confidence in this God of all grace.
Jesus knew Peter’s frailties, his weakness, and yet He still chose Peter to become one of His close three. In fact, Peter would experience “The Glory of Heaven” which allowed him to realize that Jesus was the Christ!

And Jesus knows each of our weaknesses and still has called us to be His. This life of sacrifice may seem hard yes, but Peter tells us that this life of sacrifice will establish us in stability and character and strengthen us in a life to be lived for Him.

Yes, I love Peter. But more than even his example, I love knowing this life of sacrifice will lead me straight into the arms of my loving God! It gives me the courage to hang on and enjoy where He is taking me – this girl with frailties, imperfections and fears. Enjoy the ride – enjoy the grace and the love being poured over you – and remember this – He chose you!

The Real Sacrifice

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Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you. Genesis 22:2

This command God gives Abraham must have been the hardest thing Abraham could have ever heard! How could this man of God offer his only son up this way? As a man of God, this could only mean one thing – faith – it took faith far bigger than any of us could ever know to obey God in this way.

Faith as a believer will always go hand in hand with sacrifice. To be a believer, faith has to be real and to have real faith, one will always be familiar with sacrifice.

We have been called to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice. This isn’t just about tithes, and doing away with all the comforts of life. It’s about the real sacrifice given for us by Jesus Christ.

Our journey with God became real when we first accepted Jesus. But if it wasn’t for the sacrifice of Jesus, we would never have been able to share such a life with the heavenly Father!

Make no mistake, as a believer in Christ, we will always be called to live a sacrificial life. And so I pray for the unwavering belief of Abraham’s faith in the love and promises of the Almighty God.

Aaron and Hurs, Rise up!

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<strong>But Moses’ hands became heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

The fighting was fierce and Moses prayed but the battle in prayer was hard – for the enemy knew how strong and successful prayer would be and so his hands became heavy.

The fight against the enemy can become overwhelming. Our greatest weapon is prayer and even in prayer we find our struggle can be hard! But God has given us others to support and hold us up just as Aaron and Hur held up the hands of Moses.

Our prayer is powerful and we can continue to do battle for our churches, our families and our nation. But the battle can become weary and we need each other to hold up our hands. Can you join? Can you come along side?

We can all be Aaron and Hurs for each other. We can be those who hold up the hands of Moses. The battle is fierce against the enemy today. The drug war, sex trade, and poverty are just a few of his weapons. But the power of prayer will always prevail!

So Aaron and Hurs rise up! Take your place next to Moses and see God move those mountains for His people! Let us see our family members, our neighbors and many more souls won for Christ! Together let’s do it!

A Father’s Day Thought

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A father shall make known Your truth to his children. Isaiah 38:19

In life, we all need good role models to follow. I have learned much from those who have gone before me. There are not many though quite as important as a father.

Ask any Christian father and they will tell you their model is God their Father. God loves His children, all His children, and a father who follows Him will find His parenting to be one of love and trust.

My husband and so many I know have followed God’s model of fathering. Loving their children and respecting their individuality has always come first. Yes, discipline is so important but there were so many times when I saw tears intermingled with that correction.

A father who follows after God prays for his children – he intercedes day and night for each one of them. The father who listens to God will give encouragement and praise before they command and will always be their children’s number one fan!

And a Godly Father will always lead his children to know his heavenly Father. He will teach them about Jesus – His love, forgiveness, mercy and grace. And, he will instruct them to follow God’s book of life, the Bible.

Today, look at your father and thank him – and know – as he has loved you – so your heavenly Father loves you and gives to you so much of Himself!

Knowledge yes but is it wisdom?

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The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel: To know wisdom and instruction, to perceive the words of understanding. Proverbs 1:1,2

Going to school as a child we were told that knowledge and instruction were so important. Knowledge would help us to grow in life in so many areas and instruction would help to explain the “how to’s” of life.

These two verses in Proverbs 1 actually tell us the purpose of the whole book. It shares with us that having knowledge and instruction are important in life. We are told the more knowledge we have, the more our life’s goals will advance.

But wisdom is what we’re after – for wisdom is the ability to make right choices based on the knowledge and instruction we receive. Wisdom however, is more than that. It is a key God gives us to unlock the doors for a God given life. Wisdom helps us to discern where to go and how to follow. And then this wisdom leads us to understanding. When we have been given understanding, we begin to see His plans for a life filled with purpose and fullness.

But this process all begins with the acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and the leading of the Holy Spirit. If Jesus is not the cornerstone, the beginning of our learning, then our vision is blurred and the plan God has for our lives will never be understood.

So today, I ask you, is the Lord Jesus Christ the cornerstone of your life? Let the Holy Spirit guide you with His wisdom that leads to great understanding. And begin to enjoy life as it was intended by God for you to live!

Be Still Before the Lord

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Psalm 37:7 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.

Today we are living in a very different world than the one I grew up in. The morally corrupt, ungodly and those who prefer to make their own set of living standards for this world seem to be in charge.
We see the Bible and God have been kicked out of our public school system, and we wonder why kids are killing kids.
A young girl, less than 18 years old can have an abortion without her parents’ permission, but cannot get a shot or any other medical treatment unless parents give their okay.
Children can use off colored language in the classroom, but are never allowed to pray.
Muslim girls can wear their head coverings to school but two students were told not to wear their crosses.

These and many other ways of this world today have made it hard to obey the command found in Psalm 37:7 Be still before the Lord. Our fighting the ungodly has only caused quarreling and more stress, and can even lead us in their direction.

Why wait on God? Because He alone knows – He alone has truth. And He cares about life on earth even more than we do. He alone is able to change things.

Today, let’s give Him thanks and praise. Let us keep our eyes fixed on God, always ready to share His good news!

Angels Unaware!

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Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing do some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Hebrews 13:2

Years ago, when our daughter Sami was 4 year old, we met an angel. We did not even realize who he was until the incident was all over so let me share this amazing story!

Sami and I were at the local grocery store (Furr’s) at the time. I was buying ingredients for a meal I was going to make for a friend. All of a sudden, this little girl who never left my side, ran off and jumped on the back of one of those high grocery carts. The cart tipped over causing her to hit her head on the cement floor and the cart cutting deep into the upper part of her little nose! She was screaming and there was blood everywhere! I was panicking and crying for help! A checker by the name of Reza came to her rescue. He scooped her up, applied pressure on her nose and told me to remain calm. All this time he kept reassuring me she was fine. He drove my car to the hospital emergency room and stayed with us the whole time.

When they took Sami in for x-rays he continued to assure me there was nothing wrong. When the x-ray tech came out he handed Reza the x-rays. Now Reza had a red Furr’s jacket on – definitely not part of the hospital staff! He put the x-rays on the screen and showed them to me, again reassuring me that everything was okay.

My friend drove him back to work that day. The next morning I went back to Furr’s with a thank you card and a money gift. Kathy, the assistant manager, told me he had quit but she would send him the card along with his check. A month later, she handed me the card and said they had no information or address for him. He did however, call to say he was sorry – that his father had called him home!

Was Reza Sami’s guardian angel? I think so – at any rate, I am sure he was an angel sent from Father God to minister and watch over my daughter. What about you? Share with us your angel stories. I’m sure we all have met them sometime here on earth!

Pride or Humility, Choose wisely!

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I had this great plan for my life when I was just starting my years in college. I wanted to be a writer for a well-known magazine or even a big city newspaper. My plans included living in a penthouse and driving a Porsche of course. I wanted to travel and see the places and meet the people who would read my columns. A major dose of pride filled my life!

AND THEN…..I met the Lord! All I wanted then was to serve and worship Him in every way I could. I became a bible teacher in a small church we started with another couple and later a pastor.

Pride is one of the greatest tools of the enemy. The Bible has much to say about pride and humility. Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before a fall and Isaiah 2:11 human pride will be brought low are just two of over 69 verses dealing with man’s pride.

But in spite of God’s Word, the world today seems to glorify pride when humility is betrayed as weakness. Politicians, celebrities and many rich in this world’s goods celebrate and gloat over the pride of life. We hear of so few people who give all they have for the poor or even let go of all this world’s recognition and give the glory to God.

We cannot even fathom how dangerous pride can be! Pride keeps us from having intimacy with God, and steers us away from the plans He has for us. Pride weakens us and entices and deceives. If we can, for one minute, see this life through the power of the Holy Spirit, humility would then win us over.

I know all of us have struggled with pride in life. And in fact, we are born selfish and often times prideful people. However, God has much that awaits us if we just let go of our pride and move forward with His plans in humility.

Humility, Proverbs 22:4 says is the fear of the Lord and its wages are riches, and honor and life!