Month: October 2017

Staying Between the Lines

Posted on by Paula

I am a person who uses the crosswalk. When we go for walks, my husband and daughter happily cross the street at an angle, while I lag behind because I am staying between the lines. If my husband and I are crossing together, and he starts easing me out of the lines, I choose to fall behind him so that I don’t go outside the boundary. I have even been known to go pretty far out of my way in order to use the crosswalk in various parking lots. I have often seen my family standing on the other side, shaking their heads, waiting on me to finish crossing. I can’t help it; I was taught that it is the rule and that it is the safe thing to do.

Another lesson about staying within the lines can be found in Deuteronomy 5:32-33, “You shall be careful therefore to do as the Lord your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. You shall walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess.”

We must be careful that we are actively seeking God’s will each day. It is true that we are not able to earn salvation by keeping the law; we have all sinned. Salvation is a free gift that we receive when we put our faith in Jesus. We acknowledge that he is Lord, and that we are sinners. We turn from our sinful ways to Jesus and his ways.

Though we are not saved by our works, we do obey when we accept his gift of salvation. Jesus says in John 14:23, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching.” Our obedience comes out of our love for Jesus. He suffered humiliation and ridicule, violent beatings and undeserved death on a cross in order that we could be forgiven our sin. And just as he laid down his life for us, we too should lay down our lives for him.

When we make that decision to die to ourselves and live for Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes to live in us. Through him, we receive the power to overcome temptation and sin and to obey God’s commands. As his power works in us, we are transformed. If we cannot see a change in ourselves and we cannot see any fruit of the Spirit, we need to ask ourselves if we have truly repented and started living his way instead of our own.

Jesus says in Matthew 7:21-23, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”

If you love him, you will keep his commands. Listen for the Holy Spirit, and let him keep you between the lines. He will teach you and remind you so that you will walk in the way of the Lord, not turning aside to the right or left.

It All Boils Down to a Choice

Posted on by Paula

She told me she needed to get her life straightened out. She thought she was strong enough for the choice she would face, but she slipped up again, just one day short of celebrating 90 days of staying clean. Although God had been strengthening her each day, Satan was waiting for the opportune time to entice her. In just one weak moment, she fell back into the trap. She relapsed. Disappointment, anger, guilt and regret followed.

A few days later, another woman shared with me that God had convicted her of a habit that was coming between her & him. She wanted to stop, but years of participating in the behavior made it difficult. She asked if I would pray for her.

I could relate all too well to their stories. I too started making some changes in my life this year, and I totally understand. The struggle is real!

I had neglected taking care of myself for years because I was too busy. As a result, I was sick and exhausted. When I cried out to God about my troubles, he convicted me. If the Holy Spirit dwells in my body, and I am to offer my body as a living sacrifice, I need to take care of it. How could I be of use to God, and how could I take care of others if I didn’t take care of myself? I needed to trust God to help me make the necessary changes and stay afloat with my busy life.

Every day has been a battle since that day I decided it was time to make those changes. I don’t want to go to bed early, but I don’t get enough sleep if I stay up late. I’d rather stay in my warm bed than get up early to exercise, especially when it’s cold and dark. However, I know that most of the time, I will be too tired and busy to exercise if I wait until I get home from work. I want to eat sugar, breads, dairy and junk food, but I know that my body will have more trouble if I indulge too much of those things. I am an excessive person, and am not always in the right frame of mind to do things in moderation.

I am the poster child for “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” I want to always please God by being obedient to him, but I love chocolate and sleep! Some days are easier than others as I’m learning to take my cross up daily and follow him. During this long, drawn-out battle, I have learned that it all boils down to my choices. I will either choose to obey the Holy Spirit and please God or I will choose to ignore the Holy Spirit and please myself. When I’m tempted to stay in bed, cheat on my diet or skip exercise, I am choosing to satisfy my flesh rather than to please God.

When the Holy Spirit convicts me of a behavior in my life that is keeping me from God or keeping me from living the life he called me to, then he will enable me and empower me to overcome. If I choose to ignore the Holy Spirit for too long, my heart could become hard and could risk no longer hearing his voice.

The choice is ours. Pray for God to help you surrender to him. Listen to the Holy Spirit’s convictions. He will empower you to overcome.

Remember All He Has Done!

Posted on by Paula

I was asking “Why?” one day. God has answered so many of my prayers lately, but he has also remained silent or even said, “No”concerning some things I’ve been praying about for a long time. I believe that my motives in what I’m asking are pure and that what I’m asking would advance the kingdom, but for some reason, God has yet to come in and save the day.

Satan can really start to mess with a person’s mind in times like this, “You’ve been praying about this for over 20 years. If God loves you so much, why won’t he help you out? God is totally able to do what you are asking. Why won’t he fix the situation?”

A thought about this came to me recently, “Stop fretting about what God isn’t doing, and remember all he has done!” My heart was convicted, and my mind started thinking of all the wonderful things that God has done for me.

I remembered the pile of shells sitting at my table on the porch. Back in June I wrote a post called, “What Do These Shells Mean?” At that time, I was remembering some of the encounters that I had with God and writing them down on seashells I had found at the ocean. I had planned on making a wind chime with those shells, but I didn’t have time to complete the project.

This Sunday, I decided that it was time to do something with those shells. Sorting through them was good. They reminded me of so many wonderful things that God had done. I even had a few things to add because over the past few months, God has continued to bless me and to allow me to experience how good he is.

There are many great spiritual markers written on those shells. Each one of those encounters with God strengthened my faith and deepened my relationship with him. Likewise, each experience with God has made an impact on my life that has helped transform me to be more like Jesus.

I’m sure that I will add even more shells to this wind chime as God continues to pour into my life. There is already one shell on there, though, that will always be the most important shell. It hangs in the center just below the shell that celebrates the day I was born. It reads, “Born Again, July 24, 1977.”

That shell represents the day that I received new life. When my body was immersed under the water, I died to myself; my sin was washed away. When my body came up out of the water, I was raised back to life in Jesus. When I think about the day that I was baptized into Christ, it puts everything back into perspective. Giving my life to Jesus and learning to follow him has been the most rewarding decision that I’ve ever made. After my baptism, the Holy Spirit came to live in me and to empower me to do God’s will. Through Jesus, I will experience eternal life with him in heaven. All the other shells on that wind chime and all of the encounters those shells represent are just icing on the cake. That one encounter helps me to stop fretting over what God isn’t doing and remember all he has done.

Offering What He Gives

Posted on by Paula

My tired eyes stared at the blinking cursor on my Word document. I always look forward to Sunday evenings; that is when I sit in my little sanctuary on the sunporch and write a new post for my blog. This, however, was one of those nights when the words just didn’t come. I thought about my comfy bed and longed for my pillow.

The last couple of pieces I wrote hadn’t received very many views anyway. I started to wonder if I should just throw in the towel this week. As tired as I was, I couldn’t give in to sleep. I had a commitment to God; I had posted the last 29 Mondays, and I was not going to let this writer’s block have its way with me.

I have always loved to write, and people have encouraged me to do so. Because of my passion for writing combined with that encouragement from others, I began talking with God about starting a blog this year. I wasn’t sure if anyone would read what I have to say or if I could even find things to write about each week. However, I decided that I would trust God in this matter, and that even if nobody read my blog, it would be okay. I would grow closer to God by spending time writing with him each week.

So, every week, I pray for God to give me the words, and then I give the blog to God to use however he chooses. This is my offering. My burning desire is that he uses it to make himself known to those who don’t yet know him and to deepen his relationship with those who do.

Sometimes, my posts receive only a handful of views with no comments or feedback. Other times, God has blessed me by letting me see the fruit of my labor. There have been times that readers have thanked me for sharing words that they needed to hear (God’s words). Strangers have “accidentally” stumbled upon posts that they can relate to and have found God’s comfort, healing and peace.

We all have something to offer our Creator who designed each of us unique and special. Just as He has put a passion on my heart to write, God has surely put a passion for something on your heart as well. Offer your passions, talents and gifts to God and ask him to use them for his glory.

Offering our lives to God and allowing him to work in us and through us strengthens our faith and helps others see that he is the one true God. In him we find great purpose and true satisfaction.

Are You Prepared For the Inevitable?

Posted on by Paula

I love summertime! I love wearing dresses, seeing the sun shine and feeling the warmth radiate down to my bones. Summer means blue skies, sheets on the clothesline, watermelon, popsicles, lemonade, flip flops, fireflies, green leaves, bright sunshine and fresh air. Life is good in the summer, and I am happy, happy, happy!

My feelings for winter are quite the opposite. I loathe wearing long pants and bundling up. I have a difficult time emerging from under my electric blanket in the morning. I dread the dark, dreary days and the bitterly cold wind. Don’t even mention the “s” word (you know, that white stuff that looks all pretty falling from the sky but makes the roads slick and the floors muddy). All through the winter, I long for the warm sunshine to return.

No matter how much I want summer to last forever, winter always comes whether I like it or not. The warning signs always creep in. The winter clothes appear in the stores, the grass begins to die, and the leaves on the trees start changing their color. Then the frigid wind starts blowing from the north, and the sunshine hides behind the clouds. Some things, we cannot change. I can either prepare for winter or live in denial and get a rude awakening.

There is another fact of life that we cannot change, and this matter is much more serious. Whether we like it or not, we must face the reality that our life here on earth won’t last forever. Our bodies wear out, and eventually our hearts stop beating. For some of us that time arrives gradually and slowly; for others, that day comes suddenly and unexpectedly.

We don’t like to think about this, but as sure as winter always comes, the day will come when we will leave this world behind and stand before Almighty God. Romans 14:11-12 says, “It is written, ‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.’ So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.” Though our physical bodies die, our souls will live on for eternity. We can either ensure that we are prepared for the day we meet or Maker or we can get a rude awakening.

You see, God created everything, and He created man in His image. All was good until we humans sinned by deciding to do things our way instead of God’s. (Adam and Eve ate from the tree that God told them not to eat from). God is holy, and sin separates us from God. The penalty for sin is death; all sinners are doomed. The wonderful news is that God sent His Son, Jesus, to provide a way for us to be made right with God again. Jesus became God in the flesh, lived here on earth and was tempted in every way just like we are, but Jesus never gave in to those temptations. He lived a perfect life without sin so that He could take the death penalty for us. He died on the cross in our place and rose from the dead, conquering sin and death. If we accept His gift of salvation & commit our lives to following Him, our slate is wiped clean. We can stand before God because we have accepted the gift of salvation through Jesus.

Jesus is Lord whether we accept it or not. Those who decide to surrender their lives to Jesus and follow his ways will receive the gift of eternal life with him in heaven. Sadly, those who choose to reject Jesus and his ways, will not be allowed to enter but will be forever separated from God and cast into the eternal torture of hell.

I do not say this to judge or condemn; I say this out of love. Just as God wants no one to perish but all to repent and be saved, I too cannot bear the thought of anyone being separated from God and cast into eternal punishment. Each of us will come face to face with Jesus & each of us will confess Him as Lord. If Jesus is tugging on your heart and calling you into a relationship with him, surrender your life and trust him. If you wait until that day when you are standing before him, it will be too late. Make sure you are prepared for eternity, and if you are prepared, make sure you tell others so that they can be prepared too.