Transformation

  I love this time of year!! I love how even the ugliest of places gets transformed into  places of beauty. This is exactly what Jesus Christ does for us when   we ask Him into our hearts.  We have 66 books that tell us how God transformed ordinary people, ones like you and me, to do extraordinary things through them.  How?  All they did was say, “Yes, Lord.” In the same way we take the ugliest of places and make them beautiful with lights and adornments, Christ transforms us with His light.

All of my life I’ve loved traveling at night. I’ve loved seeing the lights and how beautiful everything looks.  Have you ever returned  during daylight and seen places that were gorgeous at night and in daylight is ugly. The disappointment , at times, is overwhelming. Jesus told His disciples, “You are the light of the world.” Is God filled with joy when He views the earth and He sees Christ’s light shining? Or does it make Him sad because He sees the lights diminishing? This raises the question, are they diminishing because fewer people are believing Jesus is the Son of God or because we are hiding our lights?  Jesus, at that very same time also said, “Neither do people light a  lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Even 2000 years ago, Jesus knew man would be hesitant about telling ones  how He transformed their lives. Now is the time for the ones who are  celecbrating the Baby Jesus’ birth to share how God’s light has  transformed them.

This is the time of year to reflect on how you have been transformed and give thanks for those changes. Just a minute, are you reading this wishing, yearning for that Light to change you.  However you feel you’re not worthy. You’re thinking if God  knew me and how I’ve lived my life He would have nothing to do with me. Don’t  stop reading!! I use to say the same thing. The truth of the matter is most of the ones who have accepted the Light into our hearts felt that very same way.  You see, we are all sinners. The Truth is “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son” to die on a cross at Calvary so your sins could be forgiven and God could have a relationship with you. Yes, you. God has known you since you were in your mother’s womb. He already knows what you’ve done because He has never left you. He’s there beside you right now with His arms outstretched waiting for you to ask for forgiveness and ask HIm to come into your heart. He won’t force Himself on you. He loves you too much to do that. Take it from me though (one who once felt the same way you do right now) His arms are comforting, reassuring, soothing, and protective. No longer am I filled with shame, or fear, or unworthiness. You say you want Christ in your heart but you don’t know where to start. Okay. Here, just say this prayer:  “Dear God, I know that my sin(s) has separated me from you.  Thank you that Jesus Christ died in my place.  I ask Jesus to forgive my sin(s) and to come into my life.  Please begin to direct my life.  Thank you for giving me eternal life. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”

Now, if you just said that prayer, go to a church and tell the minister, pastor, priest. Tell him you want to learn all you can about this man named Jesus. If you have a Bible (that’s the 66 books I referred to earlier) you can turn to anyone of the four Gospels: Matthew Mark, Luke and John to learn about this man named Jesus. This birthday that’s being celebrated every December 25th throughout the world, why are you celebrating it? Because you’ve been transformed, want to be transformed, or its just a day to get a bunch of presents and good food?

My Rules/God’s Rules

About 75′ from the front of my apartment is a playground used by the children living in this complex. The other day, I had my windows open and was sitting in my easy chair in front of the windows working on my computer. A group of children were playing on and around the equipment when I heard one child cry out, “I made this game up so I can make the rules.” This made me laugh. Quickly, I sobered up and realized there are many times I take that attitude with God. “This is my life, so I can make up the rules.” How often we forget, it was God who created us for His plan, for His purpose. Psalm 139:13 says, “For You created my inmost being, You knit me together in my mother’s womb.” How many times do we forget that?

Unfortunately, all to often, we forget God’s plan for us is the same today as it was in the days of Jeremiah. His plans are still “to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Some of us believe because we’re not rich as the world defines rich, they think  God has forgotten them and so they continue to play by their own rules. His greatest desire is for us to “call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with ALL (emphasis mine)  your heart.”

Shortly before Jesus was crucified, the religious leaders asked, “Teacher, which is your greatest commandment in the Law?” To which, Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” Are you living by your rules or by God’s rules? You say you want to live by God’s rules but you don’t know how or where to start? Paul tells us in Romans 10 if we confess with the mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. The best place to start is by attending a church that preaches the Word of God or talk to someone you know who is a close follower of Jesus Christ. You know who that is,  don’t wait any longer. Jesus Christ said, “Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”

VICTIM/VICTOR

Okay, we all know ones–possibly family members and loved ones–who have turned their  backs on Jesus and all He stands for.  We know ones who haven’t yet come to know the love God has for us. How much He wants a relationship with us. They are living as victims of this world and they don’t even know it. However, we do and there is something we can do about it. We can change their lives from victims to victors in Christ.

At this time, I’m doing a study by Beth Moore. Many of you will recognize the name. She is the author of many Bible studies. In today’s lesson, she asked us to use Ephesians 1:18-19 and Ephesians 5: 8-15 and pray for them until you see them  in relationship with God again. We know this world is assaulting us from every side and claiming more and more victims every day.  Well, here’s a way we can help Christ claim victory every day and turn ones from victims to victors. Therefore, I’m asking each of you to arrive at your list of loved ones who are not walking with Christ and pray the following prayer for them until you see evidence of Christ in their life. Then, scratch that name off and add another name God gives you. It is time for us, the believers, to quit sitting on our hands, to quit moaning about how terrible this world is becoming and do something about it. So here’s a prayer you can use or go to the above-mentioned Scriptures and write your own:

Lord, I pray the eyes of this (these) person(s) hearts may be enlightened in order they may know the hope to which You have called him/her/them. Father, I pray he/she/they come to know the riches of his/hers/their glorious inheritance as one of your saints and as a believer the power they have as Your child. Precious Jesus, he/she/they are living in darkness, but now let him/her/them be light in You. Let him/her/them live as children of light and discover what pleases You, Father. Help he/she/them have nothing more to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them to Your light. It is Your light that brings healaing, precious Jesus.  Show he/she/them how to live not as unwise but as wise children of God. “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead and Christ will shine on you.” We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Print out this prayer and tape it where you will see it often, pray it, and watch God’s power be unleashed. Nothing is impossible for our God.

INNER BEAUTY

 

In 2005, on my trip West in my motor home, I stopped for a week at the Grand Canyon National Park. Due to my physical condition I was only able to see the Canyon looking across it or down into it. It is magnificent. However, this past week a friend spent a week at the Canyon and Facebooked some pictures he took while on the bottom of the Canyon and hiking different trails in and through it. I was able to see through his pictures how truly awe-inspiring, how overwhelmingly majestic, and perfectly magnificent this piece of land is.  Some people only see a big hole, a bunch of rocks, and a whole bunch of hard sand. Often times, each on of us mistakenly do this when viewing others or when we view God. We don’t take time to investigate further, to look deeper or spend the time required to seek out the beauty to discover the answers to all those questions that are inside. The Grand Canyon is a perfect example of God’s forces at work. Through this picture and others my friend and his friends shared on Facebook, I was able to see a whole new beauty about this region I couldn’t see before. However, first, I had to look at them not through eyes of envy but eyes that had the scales taken off.

God tells us in Ecclesiastes 3:11, “He has made everything beautiful in its time.” That can also be applied to our relationship with God. In time, if we take the time to look deeper, seek harder to understand this God we can discover the love He has for us. We discover how desirous He is to have a personal relationship with us, and we learn the lengths He went to so He can have and keep a relationship with each one of us. God created you, He knew you when you were in your mother’s womb, He knows every hair on your head, every thought you have, and He knows the beauty that is in you. Are you ready to look deeper and discover who this Triune God is? Ask Him to teach you. He will.

JEALOUSY

This morning I was remembering how last week I jealously guarded Monday from having outside of the home obligations. Nothing short of an emergency was going to be cause for leaving my home during the day. Tasks had been piling up and it was time to get them crossed off my “to do” list. Instantly,  I knew this was how God wants me to protect my time with Him. My NIV Life Application Study Bible concordance defines jealousy this way: “apprehensive of the loss of another’s affection; vigilant in guarding something; feelings of envy or bitterness. The Scripture about God’s name being Jealous and God being a jealous God ran through my mind. Is He really apprehensive of losing our affection? Wow, He loves me and cares for me so much God is apprehensive of losing my affection? Is this an indication of how much He wants a relationship with me? Yes, YES, AND YESSSSS!!! Not only does He love me and you that much, He also does NOT want to lose our affection for Him to the gods of the world and it is definitely and indication how much He desires a relationship with each one of us.

Then look at the second part of the definition: VIGILANT IN GUARDING SOMETHING. Has He been vigilant in guarding me, in guarding my relationship with Him, is this an appropo description of our relationship? Looking back over my faith walk with Him my answer is a resounding YES to each of the questions. Even when I was sure His ears were plugged and He had turned a deaf ear to me, I can honestly say He was “vigilantly guarding something” ; without a doubt, my life, the heart I had asked Him to share, my faith. Praise God!!

Does God have feelings of envy or bitterness? He definitely didn’t like it when the Israelites kept turning away from Him. He definitely didn’t like it when I turned away. Yes, maybe God is righteously envious and bitter when we eagerly follow the worldly path rather than the path He has chosen for me or you. Looking at it this way, makes me want to jealously guard my time, my relationship, my love for Him and know my faith is stronger because of it.  What about you?

Seduction

It has been three months since I have posted. Since then I’ve written one devotional I gave to a group at church. The whole time I’ve been writing, I’ve questioned why God chose me. I’m not a theologian nor am I a Bible scholar. I’m like the majority of people filling our church pews. An ordinary person who tries to read her Bible everyday, pray every day, hear and see God in my life.  When He tapped me to write, I hadn’t been a regular church-goer for the previous eighteen years. But between the time I wrote my first article and now,  God has been teaching me. Through studies, through Scripture, through prayers He has taught me about His love and His desire to have a deeply personal relationship with each person He created.

It is through a study I’m doing now, one I’m preparing to facilitate this Fall, and a devotional I read with my Bible reading plan, I learned how I had been seduced by Satan. Through the study I’m doing now I learned God speaks to us in echoes. He will keep telling us over and over until we finally hear Him and obey Him. Well, He has been telling me ever since I began writing, He had chosen the right person. He told me several times my writing was a gift and He doesn’t take back His presents and He doesn’t hand them out nonchallantly, nor indiscriminately. Then, through a study I’m preparing for, He showed me how a famous Bible study writer and teacher had the very same doubts, the very same thoughts about her writing as I did mine. Boy, that hit me right between the eyes. If she felt that way about her writing and God was using her writing so powerfully, then He was using me as His instrument for writing. His calling me to write has never been up for debate. It has been my qualifications which I questioned. Then today, a devotional told how Satan is a great fisherman. He knows the areas we are vulnerable, he knows the hook and the right lure to use to hook us, he is very crafty in hiding his hook. BAM!! Suddenly, I realized Satan had seduced me, hooked me and almost caught me in this area. Praise God He has promised us He would always protect us.  He will never forsake us!! He tells us in Corinthians He would always provide the way out when we find ourselves in these situations.

Are you being seduced by Satan? Like me, you may be starting to believe His lies. That is why I’m writing this. It was not God who was telling me I couldn’t write. God was the one encouraging me, showing me over and over again, we make a good team. Are you filled with doubts about a gift God has given you? Do you feel you’re not qualified to do what He is asking of you? Do you feel so and so is much more qualified than you? Please, stop, ask God to open your heart, your ears, your eyes to Him. Stop listening to the lies the enemy is filling you with. If God has shown you over and over again, you are doing His will, listen to HIm. We have the power within us to overcome. Jesus Christ is giving you the answer to the question(s) you are asking.

The Pastor and His Son

From Death Comes Life, a photo by susan.house on Flickr.

We never know when some little gesture can make a great difference in someone’s life.

Every Sunday afternoon, after the morning service at the church, the Pastor and his eleven year old son would go out into their town and hand out Gospel Tracts. This particular Sunday afternoon, as it came time for the Pastor and his son to go to the streets with their tracts, it was very cold outside, as well as pouring down rain. The boy bundled up in his warmest and driest clothes and said, “OK, dad, I’m ready.”  

His Pastor dad asked, “Ready for what?” 

“Dad, it’s time we gather our tracts together and go out.”

Dad responds, “Son, it’s very cold outside and it’s pouring down rain.” The boy gives his dad a surprised look, asking, “But Dad, aren’t people still going to Hell, even though it’s raining?”

Dad answers, “Son, I am not going out in this weather.”

Despondently, the boy asks, Dad, may I go? Please?”

His father hesitated for a moment then said, “Son, you may go. Here are the tracts; be careful son.”
“Thanks Dad!”

And with that, he was off and out into the rain. This eleven year old boy walked the streets of the town going door to door and handing everybody he met in the street a Gospel Tract. After two hours of walking in the rain, he was soaking, bone-chilled wet and down to his VERY LAST TRACT. He stopped on a corner and looked for someone to hand a tract to, but the streets were totally deserted. Then he turned toward the first home he saw and started up the sidewalk to the front door and rang the door bell. He rang the bell, but nobody answered. He rang it again and again, but still no one answered. He waited but still no answer. Finally, this eleven year old trooper turned to leave, but something stopped him. Again, he turned to the door and rang the bell and knocked loudly on the door with his fist. He waited, something holding him there on the front porch. He rang again and this time the door slowly opened. Standing in the doorway was a very sad-looking elderly lady. She softly asked, “What can I do for you, son?”

With radiant eyes and a smile that lit up her world, this little boy said, “Ma’am, I’m sorry if I disturbed you, but I just want to tell you that *JESUS REALLY DOES LOVE YOU* and I came to give you my very last Gospel Tract which will tell you all about JESUS and His great LOVE.” With that, he handed her his  last tract and turned to leave. She called to him as he departed. “Thank you, son! And God Bless You!” Well, the following Sunday morning in church Pastor Dad was in the pulpit. As the service began, he asked, “Does anybody have testimony or want to say anything?”

Slowly, in the back row of the church, an elderly lady stood to her feet. As she began to speak, a look of glorious radiance came from her face, “No one in this church knows me. I’ve never been here before. You see, before last Sunday I was not a Christian. My husband passed on some time ago, leaving me totally alone in this world. Last Sunday, being a particularly cold and rainy day, it was even more so in my heart that I came to the end of the line where I no longer had any hope or will to live. So I took a rope and a chair and ascended the stairway into the attic of my home. I fastened the rope securely to a rafter in the roof, then stood on the chair and fastened the other end of the rope around my neck. Standing on that chair, so lonely and broken hearted I was about to leap off, when suddenly the loud ringing of my doorbell downstairs startled me. I thought, “I’ll wait a minute, and whoever it is will go away.” I waited and waited, but the ringing doorbell seemed to get louder and more persistent. Who could this be? Nobody ever rings my bell or comes to see me.” I loosened the rope from my neck and started for the front door, all the while the bell rang louder and louder.

When I opened the door and looked I could hardly believe my eyes, for there on my front porch was the most radiant and angelic little boy I had ever seen in my life. His SMILE, oh, I could never describe it to you! The words that came from his mouth caused my heart that had long been dead, TO LEAP TO LIFE as he exclaimed with a cherub-like voice, “Ma’am, I just came to tell you that JESUS REALLY DOES LOVE YOU.” Then he gave me this Gospel tract that I now hold in my hand.

As the little angel disappeared back out into the cold and rain, I closed my door and read slowly every word of this Gospel Tract. Then I went up to my attic to get my rope and chair. I wouldn’t be needing them any more. You see—I am now a Happy Child of the KING. Since the address of your church was on the back of this Gospel Tract, I have come here to personally say THANK YOU to God’s little angel who came just in the nick of time and by so doing, spared my soul from an eternity in hell.”

There was not a dry eye in the church. And as shouts of praise and honor to THE KING resounded off the very rafters of the building, Pastor Dad descended from the pulpit to the front pew where the little angel was seated. He took his son in his arms and sobbed uncontrollably.

Probably no church has had a more glorious moment, and probably this universe has never seen a Dad that was more filled with love & honor for his son… Except for One. This Father also allowed His Son to go out into a cold and dark world. He received His Son back with joy unspeakable, and as all of heaven shouted praises and honor to The King, the Father sat His beloved Son on a throne far above all principality and power and every name that is named. Heaven is for His people; Jesus is for our hearts!

Remember, God’s message CAN make the difference in the life of someone close to you. Do not be too shy to share that wonderful message.

 

What type plant are you?

Have you looked outside your window lately and viewed God’s wonderful works of nature? We have trees, shrubs, herbs, flowers, vegetation such as fruit and vegetables, and weeds just to name a few. As varied as the plants are, so are we. Some of us are solid like the trees, protect against erosion like the shrubs, provides appetizing flavors to what we eat, our flowers provide us a variety of colors, and there is the nourishment provided by the fruit and vegetables.

No matter what type you are all of these things have to be feed, watered, given sunshine, a time to rest, a time to grow. We get our feeding through the Word of God known as the Bible. We get watered by spending time in prayer with our Saviour. We are given sunshine through the eternal guidance and nurturing our Lord Jesus gives us each and every day. Our time to rest is given us in the pleasures God provides us during our recreational times.  We are given a chance to grow everytime we dedicate and set time aside to do a Bible Study.

Hopefully, you haven’t chosen to be a weed. Jesus tells us in Matthew 13: 7, “Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.” Something that overtakes the good vegetation and kills it. While some may be pretty to look at, a weed overcomes and kills everything around it. Which type plant are you, one that is an enhancement to life or one that kills the life around it?

Paradoxes of Faith

The American Heritage Dictionary defines paradox as ”a seemingly contradictory statement that may nonetheless true”. Being a follower of Jesus Christ, our faith is filled with this phenomenon. Lately, it has been intriguing to me; so I thought it would be interesting to see how many I and others could come up with.

Here are some of mine with the Scripture reference. With each the NIV Life Application Study Bible is quoted:

• Being cleansed by blood, Revelation 7:13-14: “These in white robes–who are they…These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
• to live, we must die–John 11:25-26: “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies, and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die.”
• Matthew 10:39: “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will find it.”
• surrender everything to Him to gain all, 1Tim 6:17–”Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.”

Getting Clean

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1John 1:9.

Isn’t it awesome that when we sin all we have to do to get clean again, is ask God to be forgiven? To truly repent–asking forgiveness with the desire never to do this sin again. However, sometimes we know there’s something just not right with our relationship with God. It’s like when a pebble or small object gets in our shoe and becomes an irritant, an annoyance. It’s painful but not necessarily so painful that it makes us stop to see what’s wrong. Eventually, though, we tire of the persistent annoyance and we stop to see what’s causing it.  Sometimes, when we’re feeling out of sorts with our relationship with, we need to stop long enough for Him to show us the irritant, the pebble in our life causing that out of sorts feeling.

Just as we have to stop and shake the irritant out of our shoe, we have to stop and shake out the sin from our soul and give it to God. We need to ask Him to show us what’s causing the annoyance between us so we can dispose of it and clean our soul.