Practice Patience

Ephesians 4:32 (TLV)
"Instead, be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving each other just as God in Messiah also forgave you."

The other day I was listening to my grandchildren having an argument over something and call each other names, and hurt each other's feelings, and then somebody started crying and came running to Nana. I sat them down to have a talk with them about the way they spoke to one another. I told them if I didn't know they were brother and sister and actually loved each other, I would think that they really hated being together. Megan told me that he was just a little brother who bothered her all of the time and she just couldn't stand it. Dax told me that she was a big sister who is always mean to him.

I began explaining to them the way Jesus says we should treat one another and how we should always love one another, and speak kindly, show kindness, and be gentle with one another. I asked if they talk to their friends like that, and they told me they were nice to their friends. I asked them why that was and they said because if they weren't nice to their friends, their friends wouldn't play with them.

And I got to thinking about how sometimes it is easier to be kind towards people we don't know and how it can sometimes be difficult to be kind towards the people we live with every day.

No one can aggravate me more than my husband. Sometimes I think he enjoys aggravating me and
does it on purpose!  We can get on one another's nerves once in awhile and sometimes we say harsh things that we don't really mean. In our frustration, the people closest to us are often the ones that see the worst side of us.

It's a terrible thing to think that we are kinder to strangers because we don't want them to see our bad side, the side we don't mind showing to our family every single day. But that isn't how God wants us to treat anyone especially not our families. Jesus was an example to each and everyone of us to be patient, kind, loving, generous, patient, patient, patient...

I get very impatient when I'm driving - people in other cars just seem to do that to me. So thinking about the verse above, I began this little habit of saying, 'practice patience, practice patience, practice patience,' until it makes me laugh and I can continue without feeling frustrated. So I started doing that when I feel frustrated with other people at home or wherever I might be. I want to practice patience in all things, but especially with the ones I love.

Be A Josiah

"Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did—with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses."
~2 Kings 23:25

Josiah's father was an evil king, as were most of his predecessors. They had ignored the word of God, they had allowed the people to build altars to false gods, and they had allowed the sacrificing of children to Molek to continue, as well as the worship of idols. Not only were the people doing this but the temple priests followed the same path. However, when Josiah read the Book of the Lord, he realized the sin going on in the country and put a stop to it. Josiah followed the Lord in a way no king since David had, and he led his people back to the Lord.

We are all like the children of Israel who turn our backs on the one true God, the Lord of Heaven and Earth, the one who created all things, and we follow the false gods of this world. Whatever Idols we follow whether it be money, our jobs, fame, success, or any of the other things that do not glorify God, the one true God, we are following false gods. That can also include our spouses and our children. Our families can become our Idols as well. Anything that we put before the Lord of the universe is a false god.

Getting our priorities straight is something we hear a lot about. But in a worldly way, getting our priorities straight is still not a Biblical view of priorities. Our priorities have to begin with Jesus Christ. He has to be first in our lives for everything else to fall into place. When Jesus Christ comes first in our lives and we put away all of our idols, then our lives begin to make sense in a way they never have before.

There are many things in this world that are upside down. Everything from religion to politics to personal lives to world views, are upside down. We look at the things going on in the world and shake our heads wondering how it came to this, but the truth is, it's always been like this. The only reason it seems worse now is because we have a wider view of the world than we ever had before. We have the technology that gives us a view completely around the world and that was something we never saw before. In the past,  we only heard the Nightly News that reported just the top points but glossed over the true tragedies of the world. The world today is quite literally the same way that it was when Josiah was king, we just have more toys.

The other thing that has not changed is God is still God. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever and He is still looking for the Josiahs of this world who will stand up for what is right, for what is true, who are willing to knock down the idols of this world, and proclaim the Living God, Jesus Christ is the only one worthy of our worship.

Purity & Modesty

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age ~Titus 2:11-12

Purity and modesty seem irrelevant in today's society. Both men & women wear less clothes in public than what was once worn in private. Appearing scantily clad or even nude in magazines and on TV is the norm for models & actors these days. And what performers are doing on stage these days would've gotten them arrested 50 years ago!

Our lives are inundated with a perverted idea of 'sexy', and our children are exposed to it from a very early age. But this idea of dressing and behaving in a way that entices and invites is not part of God's plan.

As people of God, we are to model decency, modesty, and purity in our lives, in dress and in actions. From the way we dress to the way we speak, we are to model Jesus for the world to see. After all, if we look like the world and talk like the world and act like the world, how will the world see Christianity as anything different than everything else in the world?

Unless there is true conversion of the heart, there cannot be conversion of life. We cannot be Christians by words only; Christianity involves our entire being. It is a complete change from our old lives into a brand new being, much like a caterpillar becoming a butterfly.

1 Peter 1:14 tells us "As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance..."

What message about Jesus does your life send to others? Does your speech glorify Him? Does your way of dress respect Him? Do your actions emulate Him?

The Sin of Cover-up

And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
~Hebrews 4:13

Recently, on 60 Second Scripture, I read from 2 Corinthians 5:10, "we must all appear before the Judgment seat of Christ so that everyone may receive what is due him for the things done in the body, whether good or evil."

This got me to thinking about our current passage in Hebrews. Everything we say, everything we do, everything in our hearts, every thought in our heads, is known to God; there is nothing that He does not see no matter how well we think we hide it.

Our nature is to hide from the truth. From the time we are small children if we are asked what we have done wrong, we will say 'nothing' and look guilty while trying to look at the ground or anywhere but up at our parents. We are the same way with God. We try to pretend that everything is alright in our life, but we cannot look at God and say we have done nothing wrong. We continue to try to hide things from childhood on through adulthood, either because we know what we have done is wrong, or because we are ashamed of what we have done, and because we really don't want others to see us for who we really are.

But God knows who we really are, after all, He created us. He knew us before we were formed in our mother's womb, He knows the beginning from the end, and whatever we are going to do in life, He has already seen.

Even in our Christian walk there are things that we like to hide from others, and from God. We don't want people to know how we act at home with our spouses, that we get angry and yell at them sometimes, or say things we shouldn't, or say hurtful things to our children. We don't want anyone to know those dirty parts of our lives that we try to pretend don't really exist. The problem with hiding those things is that eventually, they come to light for everyone to see. But mostly, God sees them as they occur, and in fact, God knows they're going to happen before we even open our mouths.

We see many accounts of this in the Bible from Jonah and the incident with the whale to King David when he had Bathsheba's husband sent into battle to die so he could cover up the affair he had with her.

We are a deceitful people. We want to run from God, we want to hide the truth, we like doing things in the dark so that no one knows or sees what we are doing; we like to whisper so no one can hear us; we like to say things behind people's backs; there truly is nothing good within us. At least not on our own.

If we go down a few verses in Hebrews, 5:16 says, "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in the time of need."

There's a lot of sin in this world & we see it all around us. Every day on the news we see sin abounding, but I don't think there's a greater sin than the sin of cover up. We're trying to hide something that can't be hidden, at least not from God, and not even from others because eventually, our sin finds us out. So I ask you today to examine your heart to see if there's anything that you're trying to hide from God, and from others. If there is, confess your sin to God, confess the cover-up, ask Him to forgive you because He is gracious and full of mercy, and He will answer that prayer. He will forgive us anything. No matter how dark the deed may seem to us, it's already been seen by God and there's no reason not to ask Him to forgive us.

Don't let sin, or the sin of cover-up, rob you of your salvation because that's what it can do. Sin is like a sore, it festers up. It's like that flesh-eating disease, once it starts, it just multiplies and drags us farther from God.

God loves you so much. It's one of those kind of loves that here on Earth we think we can imagine it by thinking of how much we love our own children, but our love for our children doesn't even come close to the love that God has for us. So don't let yourself be separated from the love of God because you're caught up in the sin of cover-up. I pray in Jesus'' name that each and every one of us will bring all of our deeds to light, ask God to forgive us, and to continue forward, walking in the light and the love Jesus Christ, Amen.

At Just the Right Age

In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah son of Amaziah king of Judah began to reign. He was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years.  ~2 Kings 15:1-2a

Age has nothing to do with your ability to serve God. Whether you are a kid or in your golden years, you can serve God. God is no respecter of persons, and He doesn't care what the calendar says. God only cares about your heart. God only cares if you have accepted His Son Jesus, and if you are willing to go where He leads you. You are never unable to serve God no matter your age. From the youngest child to the oldest person, there is still something living within you that can further the Kingdom of God.

At my church in Oklahoma there is the sweetest lady in the world who I love dearly, who came to the Lord and was baptized when she was 89 years old. What an amazing testament to the saving grace of God.

You are never too old to serve God, and you are never too young. God can use you wherever you are, no matter your age, no matter your physical abilities, those things mean nothing to the God we serve. All He is looking for is a willing heart, someone He can use, someone who will step out and speak the words given by the Holy Spirit.

God is not forceful. He will never make you do anything you don't want to do. God is looking for those of us who are willing, no matter what our backgrounds are, no matter our education, no matter our circumstances, God is able to use each and every one of us. But it is up to us.

One of my favorite verses is from Isaiah 6:8: And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”

In 1994 the Lord ask me that question and I said, "Yes Lord, send me." And He did and I've never regretted it. I continue to this day to go where the Lord sends me, to say what He wants me to say, and do what He wants me to do. And over those years I have suffered a lot of physical problems. I've had three hip surgeries, I've had a hysterectomy, I've had neck surgery and the list goes on with cataracts, arthritis... you name it, I seem to have it. But my physical being is of no consequence because all that matters to me is the Kingdom of God, and getting the word about Jesus Christ and salvation out because this world as we know it is coming to an end very soon. Jesus is coming back and people need to know what lies beyond that. Even if Jesus wasn't physically coming back, we are all going to die, we are all going to stand before our Lord and Maker. Everyone of us are going to have to answer for what we did on Earth, for the words of our mouth, for our actions, for everything that we have done. We are going to have to answer for that. But if we know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we don't have to worry about those things because they are forgiven, because the devil has no power over us, and even though he is our accuser before God, Jesus is our Victor. He is our advocate, the One who is on our side, and He is the One who is going to tell Satan to shut up and leave us alone. He's the One who's going to tell the Father that we belong to Him.

You are not too old. You're not too young. You are just right. And now is the right time to stand up and say, "Yes Lord, whatever you want, I will go for you."

Everything Is All Right

"Run to meet her and ask her, ‘Are you all right? Is your husband all right? Is your child all right?’”

“Everything is all right,” she said.
~ 2 Kings 4:26

This is the story of the Shunammite woman who was old when Elijah told her that she was going to give birth to a son and she did. When he was a child he died. The woman went to where Elijah was, and as the story turns out, Elijah did the same as his mentor Elijah had done, and laid across the boy and the boy came back to life.

I have lost a son, a daughter, and several grandchildren. There's nothing more difficult for a mother than to lose her child. No love is greater,  and no heartbreak is worse  for a woman but the Shunammite woman, who should have been in a panic, who should have been wailing, crying and grieving over her lost child did none of those things.

Instead, she went to the prophet who had told her she would have a son and when she was greeted and asked how everything was, she did not cry and say,  "My son is dead," she said,  "Everything is all right." It reminds me of David whose infant son died. (2 Samuel 12:16-23) He fasted and prayed while the son was sick but when the baby died, he got up and ate and everyone asked, 'why aren't you grieving, this child is dead' and David said,  "he cannot return to me but one day I'll go and be with him."

I'm also reminded of Job, who, after having lost everything that he held dear, said, "The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord." (Job 1:21)

It's important for us to remember as followers of Jesus Christ, as believers in God, that no matter what happens, if we are faithful and we truly believe that our steps are directed by the Lord, no matter how disastrous it may seem, no matter what we may lose, no matter how low it may seem that we are going, no matter if we lose everything that we hold dear, we can still be like the Shunammite woman and say, "Everything is all right."

"Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul

It is well (it is well)
With my soul (with my soul)
It is well, it is well with my soul" (Audrey Assad)

Psalm 46:1-3 – God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.

You Are Not Forsaken

“And they will call them, “The holy people, the redeemed of the LORD”; and you will be called, “Sought out, a city not forsaken.” Isaiah 62:12, NASB

I have been through a lot. I was sexually abused as a child, I was physically & emotionally abused in a relationship when I was young, I've abused drugs & alcohol, and I've been about as low as a person can go. I spent years blaming myself & others, beating myself up, feeling guilty, being angry, and finally learning to move on but the one thing I couldn't do was deal with others who spoke about similar struggles.

I guess it brought back too many painful memories, thoughts, emotions, and perhaps, it was a form of PTSD. However, God kept placing people in front of me who had the same life experiences I did, and I told God I just couldn't deal with other people's problems. Then, due to a genetic birth defect, I wound up in a wheelchair for a year before undergoing two painful hip surgeries. Sitting in a wheelchair gave me a new perspective on life. It also gave me something else, humility.

I never thought myself to be prideful but in the midst of learning to overcome my own demons, I had actually begun to act as if I had done something more or better than others. I had come out of the darkness. I had pulled myself out of the gutter. I had pulled myself up by the boot straps. I was strong. I was brave. I faced my demons, stood my ground and backed them down. Thereby, others who didn't overcome their problems were weak.

God had a sit-down with me. A year long sit-down where I struggled just to get from room to room. I was also attending the local community college, which had lovely hilly grounds, and I wasn't in a powered wheelchair. Life was a struggle in a very real physical sense. After two hip surgeries, I was on a walker, and then a cane.

The process took about two full years. I hated everything about my disabilities. But God used that time to teach me that while I had been responsible for making the decision to get out, to come through the darkness rather than be consumed by it, my strength came from Him. Even the decision to come to God was from His Holy Spirit. And that without Him, I would still be wallowing in that gutter.

While I had the desire, it was from God, but more than that. He wanted to use the work He began in me to bring others to a place where they could also reach others. It was not a singular event, a blessing for my life but a manifold blessing that had the potential to reach thousands of women who were just like me.

There is no 'me' in Jesus, but there is an 'us' and like Jesus, we aren't here to walk alone but to bring others along while we walk with Him. No matter what you are dealing with or have come through, you have not been forsaken. Your story is powerful, and you have an amazing ability to overcome through the Blood of Christ. He makes us brave and strong and able to pass on to others the strength to overcome every situation, every demon, every nightmare, and wake up in the bright & glorious light of God's love.