I'm Just Saying

There are lots of things we think we need. We need to rest, we need to pay the bills, we need to go shopping, we need to call someone etc. etc.None of these are bad things. But none of these things are what our soul needs. And the only answer for our soul is Jesus. Without Jesus I feel like I am running on empty but still trying to get everything done to please everyone and always failing. Without Jesus I am following a crooked path through uncharted forest and getting terribly lost. Well, you get my drift...I"m just saying without Jesus I am lost!

Zombie

Early in my Christian walk, I saw a grateful dead t-shirt. I remember thinking that to be a clever name for Christians for indeed we are dead to the sin of our past and grateful for Jesus' saving grace that freed us. I later learned that the t-shirt was not a declaration of God's Mercy. Sad, I thought, that they missed the point.
Here we are 40 some years later and Gardenfire tells us that we are Zombies...dead to sin but alive in Christ. Yeah!!! Someone gets my warped sense of humor.

But, the disconcerting truth is that sometimes we walk around as Hollywood zombies...all scary and possessed-looking with no inner light nor proof of a better existence shining within us. Wake up!!! We are not possessed...we are saved!!!! From death into life eternal...GOOD NEWS!!
Yes, we are dead to sin but not dead to life. Let us live so others will wonder...others will ask and seek what has changed us. Walk like Jesus and conquer in love for His name's sake.
Be dead in sin...but very alive in Christ!

Debt Free

Jesus paid it all
All to Him I owe
Sin had left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow.
So are the words of an old hymn that we use to sing in church when I was a girl. I know what it means to be in debt...to get calls all hours of the day for payment...to have utilities shut off and young children needing heat and food. I know what it's like to need assistance for the most basic of needs...to feel overwhelmed with no way out. I understand compounded debt from foolish decisions while looking for a chance to catch your breath and keep your head above the waters. Years of restrain, behavioral change, and help from Holy Spirit have landed me in a good spot...FREE from Debt!
But freedom from sin was not acquired by my work, salary, or by any method or talent I have. My eternal debt was paid by death...the death of the Son of God, Jesus. First, let me say how deeply grateful I am to the God Who loves me that much. Secondly, I owe nothing...no interest...no collateral...no promissory note...no first born child...I owe nothing. His death payment was a gift freely given. All I had to do was accept. I understand being FREE from ETERNAL DEBT!
Jesus paid it all
All to Him I owe
He washed me white as snow!!!
Please live your life debt free...accept Jesus' gift ...then live as if all to Him you owe.

Matters

I can only sit so long before I have to take charge of whatever bugs me. It may be as mundane as dusting or washing windows or decluttering my
mess.
Sometimes I find myself telling things that were not to be spoken. This always puts me in an uncomfortable situation...but I can't help taking things into my own hands. I am learning that I am a bit of a control freak!
Yet, God who has every right to be in control, will not take that right. He lets me blunder through until I realize that I messed up again and call out to Him for help. He is a wonderful father...corrects me and sends me on my way with His blessings.
Gardenfire reminds of one time when God took control even though we didn't ask Him to nor even sought Him for help. And that one time changed all our lives forever. When Jesus suffered the cruel death of the cross for our sins, He took matters into His own hands...literally! Those gentle hands of love and sacrifice became the hands of healing and salvation!!! Those divine hands reached out and bled that we might live. Those hands matter...He took us into His hands for we are the "matter". Can you wrap yourself around this image...the creator gave His life for His creation.
Next time you extend your hand or touch someone or help someone...think of Jesus' hands stretched and nailed for you. Jesus took matters into His own hands because we are the "matter" that matters to Him.

Cease Striving

"Stop wiggling!", the anxious Mother said to her child. It was obvious that standing in the grocery store line with 4 people ahead of them was not what the child had in mind as a good time. Exasperated and overwhelmed, the young Mother said in half moan half threat, " Just be still! It will be over soon!"


I often think of that scene when I become like a 2 year old waiting...waiting for an answer that never seems to come. Waiting for an adventure to begin...waiting for my family to arrive on a visit...waiting for a life-changing decision to happen. I must say that "waiting" is not my strong point. I am more of an immediate gratification type person. My Mother taught me that patience is a virtue but God is teaching me how to be patient!

I don't always like the lesson, but one thing I have come to trust is that God is perfect in all His ways. He sees the beginning and the end. He is a careful planner with my best interests in mind.

When I became a Christian, I gave God free reign to guide my life. He has never let me down. So I trust Him but still, waiting is hard. I sense He often tells me to "Be still and know that I am God". So that is what I am doing concerning my latest issues. I am going to be still...and live with the knowledge that He is God...He has, will, and always will take care of me.

Princess

When anyone asked me ,"What do you want to be when you grow up?" I would always answer with the same three choices. "I want to be a Princess, a Jew, and an Indian"(it was not politically incorrect at that time). Years later my Mother told me that it was impossible for me to be those since I had not been born into any of those social or cultural families. While it did not shatter my constitution, I was a little disappointed. I had already imagined my dress and tiara, what horse I would ride barebacked, and all the great songs and dances I would do at every occasion. I think what I really loved was the pageantry. Each of these cultures are so rich in their customs that I found myself daydreaming as a child of faraway, wild places.


When I became a Child of God imagine my surprise to find out that I was a Princess because my Heavenly Daddy is a King!....I was adopted into a Jewish family because I was bought by the Blood of Jesus!...and for the Native American? Well, I may have to let that go unless I can find some distant relative whose is Native American. (I'm still working on it! )


So it seems that my girlhood dreams are true. How like God to give you the desires of your heart! This t-shirt by Gardenfire is quickly becoming one of my favorites. It reminds me that my Jesus loves me and calls me His own.


Any other Princesses out there? Welcome to the Family!!!

Bible Smuggler

We live in a country where the ability to posses a bible is free... at least for now.
We serve a God who has charged us with sharing His word, living the Word's standard, and be a light in the darkness.
But what if darkness was all we knew and God's word was not available? Who would teach us? Who would bring us the "Good News"?
We are instructed to give Hope to a dying world. And there is no greater place on Earth where the word is needed than in darkness. Find a patch of darkness and be the light.
Spread the Light...
Spread the Hope...
Spread the Word.