Back To The Basics

Everyone is nervous. Some are frightened.

What am I takling about?

The economy, the world, crime, foreclosures, big companies failing, job layoffs, no work for small businesses, disobedient children, uconcerned spouses, children being aborted, wives being killed, drive by shooting, strings of arson fires, mudslides, earthquakes, bombing, attacks on Israel, fighting in Gaza, children taken over by drugs, adults taken over by alcohol and drugs, people being cheated out of their investments, deaths being faked. There is more but you get the idea.

It seems as though when I was growing up the coutry was striving, growing, content. There were struggles yes. But when I look at the comparison of today it doesn't seem to compare to the turmoil our country is facing now.

Forgive me if I insult you by not being politically correct, but it doesn't seem to me that being politically correct has help any of the situations we are facing today. Everyone wants their own way. Everyone wants things to change to suit their own agenda. Everyone wants everything to be accepted. The only thing that happens when these things occur is that nothing works, nothing is accepted, and complete and utter confusion comes about. This is what I feel has happened to our country. I believe there will be a day when my comments will seem of extreme insignificance to others when compared to the offense they will feel in the future.

When I was growing up we learned Bible verses in school, we had a clear definition of what was right and wrong. When I finished my work for one subject while waiting for others to finish, I sat and looked at the Ten Commandments posted on the classroom wall and thought about what they meant. It never bothered me that I should not kill, steal, covent. It never bothered me that I should love my bother as myself or that I should love God with all my heart. Honestly I always thought that if being told not to steal, cheat or covent did offend someone they had a real problem to begin with.

Some may think that I am just romanticizing past days. No. This is fact. History, when I was in school was the basics of this country was founded on God. Our fight to be able to worship God without interference from others. And it wasn't that so long ago. Another fact. Now we can't even mention God eventhough we carry around currency with God written on every piece of it in our pockets. We spend this same currency with God written on it to acquire everything else that we worship.

How did we get away from the beliefs this country was based on? An even more important question is, how do we get back to those principles and beliefs? It is obvious that the beliefs now held are not working. It is time to get back to the basics and our pledge for our country. It was not just a poem written down as something to be said for the lack of anything else to be said. It is in all honesty our country's pledge to God. To be one nation, under God, indivisible. Under God... to be under his authority and rule......indivisible.... unable to be divided from his authority and rule. If we do not stand up to our promice to God things will only get worse. This is our country's pledge. It is yours?

A New Year!

It's a new year, 2009. We don't really make resolutions for the new year. But, this year seems to be different. God seems to be moving us in a different direction. Work has come to a stand still for us being that we are self employed. We don't know what is in plan for us. So this year we can only wait on God to give us direction as to what he will provide for us for income. We will be patient in our waiting, depend on him for courage while we are waiting, and constantly pray for the answer from him as to what to do.

This can make you anxious. But we know that God is in control. He has promised not to leave us or forsake us. He promises if we keep praying and asking he will answer. The answer may not be what we would prefer but we know God wants us to be confident in what he has planned for us. He wants us to be content in every situation. He wants us to keep serving him and to let our lives be a light that points others to him ... even (especially) when we are waiting on him. This is our plan for the new year.

Also, we can wait with anticipation with excitement. To see what the creator of all that has been created, especially for us in our individual life leaves us humble. He is so wonderful and we are not. I am thankful that he cares so much for us that he promises we can depend on him. I am even more thankful that he is faithful to his promises.

Much More than Amazing

God's grace is much more than amazing to me.

A couple of months ago I was told I had multiple ovarian cysts. The largest being 3+ cm. Anything over 2 cm is considered to be high risk for cancer or at the very least for surgery to remove the cyst. I prayed constantly for God to remove the cyst and to let them resolve as well as asking others to do the same.

The morning of the test, I prayed one final time for healing from God. As I lay on my bed after finishing my prayer just before drifting back off to sleep, I felt a calming sensation through the middle part of my body. I knew it was God answering my prayer. I woke up a couple of hours later and left for my test.

After a few days I reseived my results back and talked to the nurse at the doctor's office on the same day. The test results showed that all of the cysts including the larger one were completely gone.

My limited wisdom doesn't allow me to fully understand the possibilities of God's grace. I know I am undeserving of the grace he shows yet he continues to hear prayers and answers them. I praise God and am thankful to God for all that he does.

Helping Others

Each day when I am out driving to do errands I see more and more people holding signs that read, "Homeless. Please help." There are more faces associated with those signs than ever before. The look on their faces are different than before. There is a visible look of hopelessness on some of their faces than ever before. There is a look of longing and searching on their faces than ever before. This has given me a different feel for Christmas this year.

Could the look of longing and searching on faces today be the same look of longing and searching that were on faces that first Christmas? What do we do this Christmas season in response to this look? How do we show Christ through us to all the worried, to the hopeless, to the homeless? How can I as one person do much at all?

There is so much pain, so much suffering. I do not have the wisdom to have the answers. I do not have the resources as one person to provide all these needs. This realization can be overwhelming and discouraging.

But I do have is the power of prayer to ask God to show me what to do, where to begin and show me step by step what he would have me do. I have the power of God to give me courage to make some small difference to some. I have the power in his Word to share with others.

God sent his only begotten Son to us to give us salvation. He showed himself to others through Christ. It is time for us to let God be shown through us to others as well. Buy someone a meal, give someone a tract and share the gospel while they eat that meal. Show compassion. Give a sincere smile and pray with those who need help. Let them know someone cares enough to pray everyday to the only one who can provide their needs.

Please join me in these ways in your own life to do what God would have you to do for these people. If we all use the power of prayer, the power of God, and the power of his Word to help others this Christmas season, we will all make some small differences, but they will add up to be a significant difference.

Christmas

It's the Christmas season and more and more we find ourselves missing the simplicity of the way Christmas used to be - spending time with family and friends while putting the emphasis on Christ birth. I miss the simple Christmas with not many presents, singing carols around the piano in front of the fireplace, drinking hot chocolate, and rejoicing in what God had done for us.

This year we have decided to keep Christmas simple once again. We decided to spend more time with family and friends, singing carols, baking homemade candies and deserts and sharing them with the ones we cherish so much. God has done so much for us.

We all seem to have lost the meaning of Christmas by turning it into a day to focus on ourselves and what we want to get, what we get, and what we didn't get. Christmas is about Christ and Christ alone. Join us this Christmas in turning the focus of Christmas back to Christ instead of ourselves. We will all buy gifts and give gifts, but the greatest gift of all has been given - Christ. Nothing we can give or get can compare, no matter how hard we try.

What Do You Think?

This week my teenager had an assignment to interview everyone in our household, asking them, "What does America mean to you?" She asked. We answered. She responded by saying that she couldn't quote us exactly. She had to change the wording because the instructions for doing this assignment included that she could include nothing that would offend anyone else. In case you are wondering what our response to the assignment question was, here goes:"America to us means that we have the freedom to live where we choose, the freedom to get an education, also the freedom to read our Bible and to spread the gospel without fear of death."

Obviously we had a long conversation about why this was, in our opinion, not the right thing to do. I instructed her to write the quotes exactly as they were told to her even if she failed the assignment. I told her I would be more proud of her for failing the assignment than I would if she were to pass with an A+. I also told her this was an opportunity God had given her to let her light shine for him and the rewards he would have for her would by far outweigh the best grade she could possibly receive for the assignment. I reminded her that scripture tells us to place God above man and to not be ashamed of the gospel.

Everyone thinks we have to be tolerant towards others beliefs and that mentioning the gospel or God is being intolerant. What they don't realize is that God is more tolerant than any of us could ever be. Even though people are turning their backs on him and want to remove him from everything, God still is withholding his anger from us, being patient with us, giving us chance after chance after chance to accept him. I feel such sadness and compassion for those who do not realize that God is the example for tolerance. Tolerance doesn't mean that we shouldn't try to teach others about God, it just means that we have to keep giving the chance to hear the truth of the gospel to others. Not to adopt their false truth for ourselves.

Are You Worried?

Everyone we come in contact with voices their worry about their economic situation. Most are struggling paying their mortgage, rent, credit card bills, light and phone bills, groceries, medical bills, along with all the other costs. Most say they have nothing left after paying everything and some say they don't have enough to pay all that they owe.

The Bible says we are to trust in God to provide what we need. We also have a responsibility as believers, if we are more financially able, to help those who do not have enough. I know it is difficult to let go of what you have worked hard to gain. But it is also hard when you sit down with coupons and sales papers trying to figure out how many different grocery stores you will have to go to, which coupons to use at which store to get the most out of them you can, and still not be able to get the groceries you need. Some believers struggle with these situations daily. It can be tiring, discouraging, and at times embarrasing.

We need to follow Jesus' example of compassion to help those fellow believers when they need us. In scripture Jesus often reached out to others because he saw their need or heard their cry. They didn't have to ask for help. He just helped.

Are you worried how you can afford all that you owe? If you are, keep praying for help. God is faithful and just. He knows what you need before you ask. Be faithful to him and in your belief in his promices.

If you aren't in the situation others are in, are you listening to God when he asks you to help? Don't turn your back or walk away when God is asking you to do for others. You may be the one God is using to answer their prayers. Don't fail this test he may be giving you. Be faithful to him to be his light.