Category: Faith

A Mother’s Day Thought

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Psalm 127:3 Children are a gift from the Lord!

As a Mother I am excited to celebrate Mother’s Day! You see for the first 7 years of our marriage, I could not conceive and thought our only children would be the four -legged kind. Then in the year 1979 we adopted our first baby, a little girl we called Missy. This little one was the first to call me mommy and the first baby I cuddled. In 1980, we adopted a baby boy, Joshua and I was overwhelmed! Yes overwhelmed with the joy of motherhood! Think of it. Here is a woman who could never have children and we have a girl and a boy!

What we did not realize is another surprise was awaiting us 7 years later. In the year 1986 the Lord gave these words to me: Isaiah 9:6 For unto you a child is born, a son is given. And in September of 1987 we named her Samantha. (By now I realized the word son in this verse translated promise.)

But there was no Mother’s Day for me during those first 7 years of marriage. I now realize this day should be a day to celebrate my children and the gift they are to me! Without them, yes I would not be a mom, but it’s more than that! It’s more than diaper changing and staying up late with a sick baby. It is more than no sleep for midnight feedings and helping with homework. It’s not the waiting up at night for them to come home.

What is Mother’s Day? It’s the giggles and smiles you receive. It’s the hand made cards and notes you get teary over. It’s the mommy, “I love you so much” and the jam on the door handles. And yes, it is even waiting for that special call to just hear their voice.

Mother’s Day is filled with memories I hold dear. It’s their first steps, first words and the little scratched noses! It’s the piano recitals, dance recitals and soccer games. It’s birthday parties, days at Disney and graduations. It’s remembering and wishing they were still little.

So this Mother’s Day, as Mother’s Days past, I will celebrate my children. I celebrate the gift they are and the joys they bring. I celebrate memories that have been given to me by a loving God who knew this woman would never be complete without them!

Happy Mother’s Day my friends! And especially: A Happy Day to ALL of our wonderful children! Your mom’s love you!

I AM!

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Isaiah 42:8 I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols.

I am the Lord; that is my name! This is the name which He chose to distinguish Himself from all idols and which shows His existence and who He is to all of us.

There are so many things in the world that grab our attention. They all get us so busy doing and going and hearing that many times the name of the Lord is pushed way back into just a thought. Our jobs yes, our families and their needs yes, but think of those things we use just to pass the time away – such as our phones, video games and movies never ending!

I can be so in tune with the Lord and all of a sudden I am drawn away – and I find myself getting farther and farther away from my devotion and praise to the One who calls me His. I can see it happening and think to myself – tomorrow – tomorrow I will give my all to Him. But then I hear Him calling my name and my heart is once again drawn back to Yahweh – the Lord – the One who desires all of me.

How about you? Can you relate? Have circumstances or things drawn you away even for just a day or two or three? And do you hear Him calling your name? He wants all of our praise and He will yield His glory to no other or no thing!

Yes, the Lord knows we are an imperfect people. He also knows that we do love Him and want to be close to Him always. So when we hear Him calling our name, it’s time for us to turn our hearts, our lives, our all back to Him and only Him.
I’m with and for you – so let’s pray for one another – that we will not allow any idol or thing or circumstance take the place of our devotion to a Great God!

For God So Loved the World!

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For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

Amazing words – and is probably the most memorized and well known verse in God’s Word. And yes it should be, for these words are words of Life for everyone – everyone who embraces Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

Many Christians however, though they know these words to be the words of God, have a difficult time embracing the thought of God loving the world. Yes, they believe He loves you if you accept His Son, but what about those who don’t?

The truth is God sent His Son because He does love the world. He loves all men and women regardless of their race or even their spiritual traditions. He loves Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and New Agers. And He loves even those who profess to be Atheists.

We as Christians tend to only understand love in terms of being saved. If you are saved, if you have accepted Christ, and if you are in right standing with the heavenly Father, then you are loved. But God loves the world – He loves all people, even those who refuse to believe.

The book of John is not telling us that God accepts only a few select people. He does not select some to be unloved and sent to eternal damnation. He did and still does love all people. He wants them to embrace a life of freedom, a life full of grace and mercy and above all His forever love.

Yes, amazing Words – but remember, we have an amazing God – a God of love, of compassion and a God who continues to wait patiently for all men. Now I ask you – who in your life needs to hear of His great love?

No Longer A Slave!

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Romans 8:15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you receive brought about your adoption to sonship.

My unsaved friends have this idea that I am in bondage to the do’s and don’ts of Christianity. Yes, God has given us His Word, which we know, does contain His law. They feel the Bible is just “a thou shall not this and thou shall not that”.

There are some Christians who do try to please God on their own power. So they set up a system of laws, which takes them into slavery, but not with God. They are in bondage to legalism! They will be forever in fear of never measuring up to a holy God!

But the Bible talks of the power of forgiveness through the blood of Christ shed for each and every one of us. It talks of His Grace and Justification – which helps us embrace the love of God.

We then have become adopted into the life He has ordained for us. We never have to fear living in bondage again and worry about losing our salvation. This is a Father, true Father who loves us and wants always to be in relationship with us.

Today, I live with the assurance of His love. Today I have the assurance of His Grace and today I will live forever as a daughter of the most Holy God, and free of fear. And today and forever I have the joy of His salvation!

To God and Only God!

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And take heed, lest you lift your eyes to heaven and when you see the sun, moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, you feel driven to worship them and serve then, which the Lord your God has given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage. Deuteronomy 4:19

Several times a year we head to Maui. I love to walk the beaches in the morning with a cup of coffee and have a time of prayer. At times I will see whales slapping the water, manta rays swimming by waving and flying fish just spraying the air with waves of morning hellos. Soon I begin to think about home and the morning with no prayer time on the beach. The Maui sun will no longer greet me and the salt air becomes a past memory. How I will miss this beautiful place and begin to imagine myself just packing up and moving there. But I realize I have spent a lifetime without a beach and have always found happiness.

No, I would not call it worship but I believe it could come close. Maui is an experience God has given me and I love it. But God has given me many experiences in my life and I have always been grateful for each one. I realize it is not Maui I love but the God who has given more than I could ever deserve.

I love my car – it is a white Mustang convertible and runs beautifully! Her name is Lucy and she is the car I have always dreamed of having. Then one day, to my horror, someone at work put a dent in her side and my husband cracked the windshield! My dream car – my poor Lucy is hurt! At this point I have to remember it is just a car – and not an object to be worshipped.

I continually need to remember that only God is worthy of our worship and adoration. Only God – and only God. It is easy for us to love what we see and feel, but God is the giver of those gifts – oceans, sun, and even cars.

Love your gifts – love the experiences and things He gives, but always, always remember the giver of those experiences and things – He is God – the One who loves us, cares for us and gives more than we could ever hope for!
He Alone is to be worshiped!

Get Ready – Sunday’s coming!

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Get ready – Sunday’s coming! This week every Christian commemorates Holy Week with anticipation of great celebration on Easter Sunday. I remember the phrase it’s Friday but hang on for Sunday’s coming! This brings excitement when we realize that Sunday is our Easter celebration!

Our faith is based on this day – the Resurrection of Jesus Christ! If we do not believe in the resurrection, then there is no Christianity. Think of Romans 10:9:
If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

I remember growing up with Easter eggs and choir robes. I remember ham and bunny cake. And I even remember a new dress and shoes to wear on that special day. But I cannot remember my family or even the church we attended proclaiming in loud shouts – He is risen!

This is Easter – the risen Christ! This is Easter, a Sunday of all Sundays to look forward to – Resurrection Sunday!

So this Sunday of Sundays we worship, we bow our heads in prayer and we celebrate with everything we are – He is Risen! This is our faith. This is where it all began – and this is our reason for living – He is Risen!

Happy Sunday my friends – happy Resurrection Sunday! Celebrate big, eat your Easter eggs and give lots of hugs. But remember, today we worship the One who gave it all for each and every one of Us!

Happy Resurrection Sunday – a Sunday for all Sundays!

All Good Things

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Luke 1:53 He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.

I remember first being a Christian and not understanding these words of Jesus. I soon realized that it takes really walking with Him to fully understand the heart of Christianity. This can begin to grow our faith and trust in Him and allow us to fully comprehend the height and depth of this life with our Heavenly Father.
When we begin to breathe in the forgiveness from our sins through His shed blood, we will begin to thirst after righteousness. We find ourselves longing for Him, seeking him more in His Word and praying for more knowledge of Christ.

We then find ourselves being filled with all good things – true freedom, and a joy and peace we had never experienced before! We are now entering into this verse of Luke 1:53 – and we realize he has filled His hungry!

The rich are not those necessarily rich in what the world has to offer. They are those who turn from His grace and trust in their own strength, their own wealth and prosperity. When they come to God with their own agenda and self-righteousness, just as the Pharisees had done, they go away empty.

The poor in Spirit – those who long for the things of Christ will always be filled. And yes, those who trust in their own strengths and good works perhaps, will be sent away without ever experiencing the love of who Jesus is.

Blessed are the poor in Spirit my friends – for theirs, for ours, is the Kingdom of God!

FATHER FORGIVE THEM!

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When I have been hurt by someone, even a close someone, I am brought before the words of Jesus in Luke 23:34 – Father forgive them, for they know not what they do. By forgiving, I can be set free from anger, bitterness and thoughts of revenge.

But forgiveness is not an easy lesson! When hurt, we immediately respond in a negative manner. At the time, forgiveness is far from our hearts. And when my heart says no to the act of forgiving, I am brought once again before the words of Jesus: Father forgive them! I am the one paying the price, but I realize now, that I pay more so if I do not forgive.

When my hurt and anger get the best of me, again I hear the words of Jesus: Father forgive them! These words of Jesus leave no room for discussion – if He, being punished for our sins forgave, then the little grievance against me is nothing!

Consider how Joseph spent years in slavery and prison. He could have been riddled with anger with his brothers who sold him into slavery. But many years later, Joseph tells his brothers not to hold what they did against themselves! His forgiveness was total and complete.

If we allow unforgivness to continue in our lives, the spiritual consequence of unforgiveness is alienation from Almighty God!

So today, if there is any unforgiveness in life toward anyone, remember the words of the one who forgave it all: “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do!”

Godliness? Yes, Godliness!

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But you O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, and gentleness. 1 Timothy 6:11

Beautiful command Paul gives Timothy here in this verse. But, I at one point asked myself, why was righteousness first and then godliness? It seemed to me that when Paul spoke of godliness, this would include righteousness, faith, love, patience and gentleness. Godliness to me would seem like the ultimate virtue to attain.

However, I have found Godliness to be much more than Christian character or appearing devout. Paul tells us that the grace of God teaches us to say no to ungodliness and all worldly lusts and live soberly, righteously and godly in the present age looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. Titus 2:12-13

So if godliness is more than Christian character, then what exactly is it? Godliness I feel is the basis and foundational truth on which we build our life. Godliness is not just something we just start living; it’s what we learn as a Christian, one baby step at a time.

It begins with accepting Jesus Christ and wanting to be like Him. It is us beginning to love God and desire Him in every part of life. It’s a reverent fear of God – learning what and how to worship Him daily. It is praying, and reading through the Holy Scriptures we have been given.

Godliness is learning to say no to those things sometimes the world calls okay. It is looking only at what God calls truth and not what the world and its pleasures call okay and acceptable. It is the realization that loving the people around us is more important than what makes us feel good.

It takes standing up for righteousness to begin our quest for a life of godliness. It is including God and His truths in every part and corner of our lives. Yes, we begin small, but oh the joy of living a life of godliness!

Not so fast…ing!

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Recently I was talking to a woman about her prayer life. I asked her if she ever considered fasting along with prayer. She told me that God has so many times answered her prayers without the use of fasting. “And besides”, she stated, “fasting is many times for those without enough faith to believe in answered prayer!”
Startled by this, I had to try and understand her reasoning. I realize fasting is not always easy, but I shared with her that fasting with prayer is such an essential part of our Christian life, for there are so many reasons to fast.
Great devastation had prompted Daniel to seek God in fasting. It was his way of pouring out his heart and asking for mercy.
Many in the bible used fasting and prayer as intercession for seeking God. Esther asked the Jewish people to fast for her before she appeared and spoke to her husband who was King.
Fasting along with prayer is also seen as service to the Lord. Remember Anna? Even at an old age, she would fast and pray, waiting on the Lord. And Peter, along with the other disciples would always fast before being sent off to serve.
So where do we stand? Is fasting a part of our Christian life? There are so many ways to fast: from sweets, from media entertainment, and from other indulgences such as coffee. And there is always the Daniel Fast of eating only vegetables.
So be encouraged by these words found in Ezra 8:23 we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer.