Life is Hard, but God is Good

This is my pond. My water lilies are blooming again. They close at dark and open in the morning. Amazing to watch. I saw them this morning and three were about to open to let the sunlight in, but this picture shows only two; the other on is right in front of the farthest flower, you can barely see it. Mainly because if the shadow the lily pad casts on it. There is no use to open now, the lily is not above water yet, not in its own space not out of the shadow of the lily. 

At just the right time, God forgave me and delivered me from all my sin. Now I am praying for others who are still in the shadow of darkness, under the influence of their father, the father of darkness that at just the right time they would hear His voice and open their hearts to Him. 

Today I remember the goodness of my God and the extent of His love toward me even in the days of my rebellion.

Scripture: Ephesians 2 followed by a great song of remembrance...

Made Alive in Christ

2 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, ² in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. ³ All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh^[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. ⁴ But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵ made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. ⁶ And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, ⁷ in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰ For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

James 3:18,

Camelot

Pro-Choice?

You have probably heard a lot about paths, the poem about two paths and choosing the one less traveled, narrow is the way to life...and broad is the road which leads to destruction. I have come across another attitude in people that I guess you would say makes me Pro-Choice.

One of my favorite quotes is "Not to decide, is to decide."

It is not a choice to not make a decision, to keep your options open. I am all for variety and getting all of the facts before you make a decision that is not a matter of life or death, but when it comes to matters of life or death, make a decision. Choose!

The Bible is life for right now, present day.

“Today, if you hear his voice,
    do not harden your hearts
    as you did in the rebellion.” Hebrew 3

⁹ This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live  Deuteronomy 30:18-20

 Whereas some decisions get easier with time and waiting, the life or death decisions to not. Life exists only on the "way" or road to life, not before the decision and certainly not on the road to destruction. Why would you put off life.

⁶ Seek the Lord while he may be found;
    call on him while he is near.
⁷ Let the wicked forsake their ways
    and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them,
    and to our God, for he will freely pardon. Isaiah 55:6-7

James 3:18,
Camelot

Listen To Me Voice

Hebrews 5 says...

We have a lot to explain about this. But since you have become too lazy to pay attention, explaining it to you is hard. By now you should be teachers. Instead, you still need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word. You need milk, not solid food. All those who live on milk lack the experience to talk about what is right. They are still babies. However, solid food is for mature people, whose minds are trained by practice to know the difference between good and evil. (Hebrews 5:11-14 GW)

My husbands sitter growing up used to sit the children down after they had gotten I  trouble and say...now this is my "listen to me" voice as she tried to make them mind (mind is southern for obey).

     Yesterday in our worship service, we honored the teachers that are a part of our local church family. I started thinking of the teachers that taught me... God bless them!  I have always believed that the purpose of school is to teach us how to learn, how to pay attention, how to listen. Now that I am not in school anymore, my prayer is that God never has to go to His "listen to me voice" with me. Father may my ears be attune to Your still small voice.

Listen to your teachers. Mostly, Listen to Your God!

James 3:18,

Camelot

Events and Truth

 But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:11 NIV)

By the Blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross, we were washed.

The Resurrection Life of Jesus Christ is Life that the sanctified life yields to.

The Ascension of Jesus Christ and Pentecost, the coming of His Holy Spirit, imparts peace delivering us from shame and guilt.

These events and truths are multidimensional and can not be summed up in a bow, but I was encouraged by the correlation. Have you heard of other right answers?

James 3:18,

Camelot

Live from Life

Have you ever felt like you were wearing a mask?

I am usually very joyful and happy. I smile on the phone when no one is looking. I smile a lot. (The wrinkles hold that smile longer now too.)

When things are not right in my world and circumstances close in, am I wearing a mask if I walk around smiling and full of joy? Well that depends.

I heard someone say the other day that denial and faith look a lot alike. They do. So what is the difference?
Denial covers the circumstances by ignoring them, numbing them, or leaving them.
Faith covers the circumstances in prayer, intercession, and the promises of God.

So, how should I live? No matter how the circumstances, if we are Christian(this is a must, since the peace that we have as Christians is not known by those who do not know Christ), then we can choose daily to live out of the "not crushed" life, rather than the "pressed down" circumstances. For the Christian, it is a choice because we have access to the Father of Life, who has promised us... well look at it...

2 Corinthians 4
⁷ But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. ⁸ We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹ persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. ¹⁰ We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. ¹¹ For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body.  ...

¹⁶ Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. ¹⁸ So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

What a Promise! What a God! That He would give us life like this. 

Lord, may my face, my heart, my mind, my actions be lived from Your Life in me. May my head be lifted by the not crushed part, may my back be straightened by the "not in despair" truth, may my lungs be filled with the "not abandoned" awareness, may my song be sung by the "not destroyed" tune. O God, my Father, I am Yours, You are mine. That is all I need. You are all I need.

James 3:18,
Camelot

Comparison or Compassion

James 3 compares relational wisdom from the world and relational wisdom from above.

         ¹³ Do any of you have wisdom and insight? Show this by living the right way with the humility that comes from wisdom. ¹⁴ But if you are bitterly jealous and filled with self-centered ambition, don’t brag. Don’t say that you are wise when it isn’t true. ¹⁵ That kind of wisdom doesn’t come from above. It belongs to this world. It is self-centered and demonic. ¹⁶ Wherever there is jealousy and rivalry, there is disorder and every kind of evil.

       ¹⁷ However, the wisdom that comes from above is first of all pure. Then it is peaceful, gentle, obedient, filled with mercy and good deeds, impartial, and sincere. ¹⁸ A harvest that has God’s approval comes from the peace planted by peacemakers.

In this context, this image is appalling, but try to list in your mind all of the places that you come into contact with people. How many are competitions and how many compassion?

The life of Jesus reeks of compassion, there was no competition in Him, except maybe glimpses when he was making the whip to clean out the money changers, or telling the story of the prodigal son's father running, or maybe even when he was fighting for the water basin to wash the disciples feet.

Lord, I want to be like Jesus. He oozed with gentleness, peace, obedience, mercy, and compassion. Lord, make me like You. Lord, make me like You. You were a servant. Make me one too. Lord, I am willing, do what You must do to make me like You, Lord. Make me like You.

James 3:18,
Camelot

National Day of Prayer

Whether you are American or not, proud or not, if you are a child of the King, pray for America!
"Never stop praying."  1 Thessalonians 5:17

pray for
Our national leaders, our international representatives, our state leaders, our local leaders.
pray for
Our children, our families, our marriages, our communities.
pray for
Our local bodies of believers, our schools, our playgrounds, our airports.
pray for
Our law enforcement, our prisons, our food pantries, our shelters.
pray for
Our hospitals, our clinics.
pray for
Our people.

Our god is not money, so our lack of money is not our need.
Our god is not health, so our lack of health is not our need.
Our god is not our fame, so our lack of being known is not our need.
Our god is not our stuff, so our lack of stuff is not our need.
Our god is not our work, so our lack of work is not our need.

Our God is Almighty God, Maker of heaven and of earth. WE NEED HIM! Pray that we will receive what we need. He is freely given through Christ. It is our hearts that need prayer.

 

James 3:18,

Camelot