Category: Christian Life

Christian Life · Uncategorized

The Danger of Telling God, “No!”

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I’m helping out a little in our Sunday school program at my church and am teaching a  class of the sweetest children.  It’s always amazing to me how the Lord takes the simple lessons I’m teaching them and drives home a truth that I need to hear.  It happened again last Sunday.

We were all reading in I Samuel 8 about the children of Israel demanding a king.  God told Samuel to warn them about what would happen if they had a king ruling over them.

  • Their sons would be his warriors, his servants, his captains, his weapon makers
  • Their daughters would be his maids, cooks, bakers
  • Their fields would belong to the king
  • The king would take their servants, their sheep and donkeys
  • They would regret their choice, and will call out to God, but He will not hear them

Then my whole class read verse 19.  After hearing the dire consequences the Israelite’s  response was:

Nay; but we will have a king over us!

 

I had the children repeat the Israelite’s response with me.  First we stood, folded our arms and stomped our foot while saying, “NO!”  Then we pounded one fist on our other hand while saying, “WE WANT A KING!”

I talked to the children about their stubbornness in demanding something from God, even though they knew it was not good for them!  Then the arrow came to my own heart.

How often I do the very same thing!  When I read or hear the danger of sin in my life and I choose it anyway, I am behaving just like the king-demanding-Israelites, and God will give me what is not good for me in order to teach me and discipline me.  Gossiping, slandering, being lazy, proud, or uncaring for the lost will all bring the consequences God warns about in His Word.  Bitterness, anger or being deceitful are full of dangerous consequences. Having a faithless heart in God’s plans, worrying, planning and scheming my own actions are also sinful choices. It’s me pounding my fist into my palm and making demands that God lovingly warns about.

It’s my choice – will I heed God’s loving warnings and go His way, or will I stomp my foot in defiance and foolishness only to reap the costly consequences?   The danger in saying “No” is that God will let me have my own way. But He loves me too much to let me go on stubbornly and sinfully disregarding His directives.  He knows what is best for me!   It may look like things are good for a while when I go my own way, but eventually I will reap from my sinful choices.  God will not be mocked.

“Oh Lord, help me to lift my hands in surrender and say instead, “YES, I WILL OBEY!”

If there’s any area in your life not surrendered over to the Lord, hear His loving warning and obey.  There are also blessed consequences for obedience!

Lovingly,

8E63C63AC0BC189BF1C68B03C74DBB5F

 

Christian Life

The Work of Gardening Our Hearts

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Last year when my dad suggested we add flower boxes to the front of our house, I knew it was just the addition we needed to set our house off beautifully.  With five front-facing windows, the foliage of flowers and greenery would add a pop of color and life!  A friend at church hung the boxes for me, then I proceeded to fill them with dirt, flowers, ivy and a spike plant.  All summer long, I nurtured and cared for those plants.

Because four of the windows are on the second floor of our house, I would

  1. Open the window
  2. Pop the lower glass inside
  3. Lift the screen
  4. Water, prune and dead head the flowers
  5. Pop the screen back into place
  6. Lower the window
  7. Lock it back into place

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I did this nearly every single day – sometimes twice a day when it was really hot.  The result?  Full, vibrant blooms and lots of beauty.  Neighbors and guests commented on the growth and the addition of the boxes.  I beamed.

When fall came the blooms began yellowing, so I added some fall plants – mums and a few pansies.  Mums don’t last long,so I just recently removed them at the root, and replaced it with more pansies of other colors.

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It’s been a bit messy at times, and a good deal of work, but I’m definitely glad we added the boxes. The addition it’s been to the house and the joy it brings my own heart has been well worth the effort!

Yesterday as I was adding Round #2 of the Pansies, I couldn’t help but think how often times we just assume that the growth and change in our spiritual lives will just “happen.”  That if we attend church, and maybe read a little Scriptural devotional from time to time and “say our prayers,” some kind of spiritual metamorphosis  will be the result.  If we know that it takes diligence and effort for a garden to flourish, why can we not apply that same type of energy to our spiritual growth?  It will require daily watering, weed pulling, fertilizing, changing, and yanking out some roots, but the end result will be worth all the effort.

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While some gardens, like mine, are visual from the front, and everyone can see it, there are others that are hidden, but still give joy to the person who lives there.  In other words, it doesn’t matter if your life is in the public eye or you’re in a place where no one sees, God knows each of our hearts, and longs to have fellowship with us, teaching us His Word and of Himself every single day.

When winter comes, I’m hoping my flower boxes will still stand out because of the efforts I’m putting into them right now.  So too, when “winter” comes to our lives – hard times or the cold winds of trial, if we’ve put in the effort in our spiritual lives, we’ll be a lovely Christian woman, for God’s glory!

What have you done today to care for the garden of your spiritual heart?

With love,

8E63C63AC0BC189BF1C68B03C74DBB5F

Christian Life

Get-Aways and Ordinary Days

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Ministry life is busy.  Very busy. It is also draining.  Very draining. So, every now and then, we just need to take a couple of days and get out of town.  Going away helps recharge our batteries so we can keep serving with strength.

Last week my family took a couple of days to head to Dollywood, an amusement park in Pigeon Forge.  They were having their fall Gospel singing, and honestly, it’s my favorite time of the year to be at the park.

We had PERFECT weather.  It was in the 60’s by mid-day and it was sunny and gorgeous.  The leaves took on  spectacular colors in the sun’s light.  Alli and I rode several rides, but I just enjoy strolling through the park, looking at the fall arrangements and the trees, shopping in the stores, as well as hearing the Gospel groups sing. Here are some pictures of our time there:

When we came home, we got rack back into the saddle – it was like jumping onto a moving Merry-go-round.  Things were already in motion and we joined in its activity.  Our time away was so much fun and so beautiful that I found myself whining wishing we could stay longer.  But you know what?  Those two days away really were sufficient, and they refreshed us and made us ready to keep on laboring for the Lord.

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This is Sour Dough Bread that I made yesterday. Yes, it’s on a heart shaped bread board!  =)  Maybe because I love bread!  

Not every day can be a Get-away Day.  Most days are ministry laden, laundry folding, bed-making, meal prepping, people-helping, bread-making kind of days.  They’re ordinary days, and that’s okay. They are familiar.  They are comforting.  They are the reason we exist.  We don’t live for the get-away’s – they simply help equip us and gird us so we’ll be ready to keep serving (and we all need to make sure we make time for rest!). Dollywood was fun, but it’s not why I exist.  The ordinary days?  Yeah, that’s why I’m here.  So then, I must put my heart to it, for God’s glory.

Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. 

I Corinthians 10:31

Have you had a get-away recently?  I hope it helped you to return to your work/ministry!

Lovingly,

8E63C63AC0BC189BF1C68B03C74DBB5F

Christian Life · Prayer

Stressing Over the Temporal

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Last Wednesday found me and my husband on board an airplane flying west to California! I had the blessing of speaking at a Ladies’ Retreat in Grass Valley from Thursday through Saturday. I had never been to the camp before, and I knew only two people there – the director and his sweet wife.

As I prepared for the retreat, I found myself in my normal mode stressing over “What should I wear?!” Will it be cold, moderate, or hot? Will I need a jacket? Will I be over-dressed? What shoes should I wear? Then I remembered my last retreat in the spring and the lessons I learned, and I let it go. I packed a skirt, two tops, a dress, a pair of jeans, a jacket and casual shoes. Done. I thanked the Lord for the reminder that my external isn’t nearly as important as what’s in my heart.

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.  

Matthew 23:25

Why do we get so hung up on the non-essentials and not nearly so concerned about what really matters? Because that’s how our flesh and the devil operate. They strive to get us distracted away from the Lord and from the eternal. For instance, it’s easy to get titled sideways over:

  • A mess – spilled Cheerios, a puddle of milk, a pile of books,
  • Too much on our schedule
  • Lack of communication from our spouse
  • A shortage of money
  • Getting treated unfairly
  • People!

But do we get just as upset over:

  • Our own messy attitude?
  • Not enough time to read and meditate in God’s Word?
  • Not enough time to spend in prayer?
  • A desire to give more to God’s work?
  • The way God’s name and ways are abused around us?
  • The needs of a lost soul?

Now that I’m safely back home, maybe I should just leave a suitcase out to remind me each day not to let the temporal, external things stress me! They truly don’t matter.

Oh, Lord, help me to be bothered to the point of change about what is relevant for eternity!

What’s bothering you today? If it’s something that will only matter in this life, let it go. Give it to the Lord in prayer, if need be, but don’t dwell on it. Ask the Lord to help you focus on what’s really important – that which is eternal. Oh, and if you’re traveling to the other coast, just layer outfits and you’ll be fine. 🙂

Lovingly,

Christian Life

How To Deal with Sudden Fears

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The phone rings and it’s the doctor’s office, calling to give the results of the lab work that was recently done.

Sudden Fear.

Your teenage daughter has a painful look in her eyes.  She has seemed distant and removed from you and the Lord in recent weeks.  She asks to speak with you.

Sudden fear.

Your boss sends an email telling you he’d like to speak with you at your earliest convenience.

Sudden fear.

You pick up the newspaper and read the headlines about yet another innocent group of Christians being persecuted for their faith.

Sudden fear.

There are hundreds of scenarios in which we could find ourselves filled with sudden fear – that terror that falls over us quickly due to some event in which we have no control.  You’ve been there, I’m sure.  We all have.  We weren’t really prepared for the news or the event. Maybe we didn’t handle those situations so well in the past.

But for those future moments, we can prepare ahead of time, simply by hiding a secret piece of ammunition on our person – it’s the Word of God.  Open up your heart and tuck this truth away:

 Be not afraid of sudden fear,
neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh.
 For the Lord shall be thy confidence,
and shall keep thy foot from being taken.
Proverbs 3, 25, 26

At that moment when the sudden terror wants to grab your heart, your emotions and your will, pull out the Truth that can enable you to handle this difficulty wisely and calmly.

  1. The Lord will be your confidence – Pray. You don’t know what to do, but He does!  He will show you the next step to take that will lead you to victory, rather than defeat. Turn to Him immediately and ask for His intervention and guidance.
  2. He’ll keep your foot – Rest.  He’ll not let you slip!  Remind yourself that the Lord will keep you safe and secure.  “No good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.”   Anything that He allows to touch your life has come through His sovereign hands first.  You are still in His grip.

The best way to deal with anything is to be prepared.  The Lord has given us everything we need to keep us from sudden fear – the Truth of His presence and the help of His hand!  Don’t be afraid!

What sudden fear has you quaking?  Pray and rest in these Truths today!

Lovingly,