August 30, 2014 1 Peter 4:8 Love Isn't Only for Weddings.....

1 Peter 4:8

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

Love, love, love....

And by showing love a multitude of our sins will be covered..... Our sins.... Not our neighbors, not our families not our enemies but our own sins against others will be covered.

It begins with us.....the only choice that we have control of is our own.... We can choose to respond out of love or we can choose to respond from a worldly position.... Our choice.
But what if it doesn't come naturally to love certain people, those that hurt us, talk bad about us to others, call us names, physically abuse us....how do we love them? And what, what would that love even look like?

I recently read Corrie Ten Boom's book, "The Hiding Place"....and this is how one allows Christ's love to flow through them even amidst the greatest of adversity. Her sister....wow, what a testimony. I look at Christ and the cross....from His "trial" to the "end"......only love.

It is other-worldly. It is God. It is choosing to say "I forgive" or choosing not to respond in like manner but rather continuing to pray for those who have hurt. Love is so much more than "fake" hearts and romance..... We are told in 1 Corinthians that love is patient, kind, does not envy, does not boast, is not proud, is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not easily angered, keeps no record of wrongs, does not delight in evil, rejoices with truth, always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres....never fails.....

We often hear this read at weddings and I'm afraid because of this...we set it aside for love in our marriages...for husbands and wives.... But nothing says that this section is reserved for marriages only.... This is love. This is how we are called to respond in every act, every gesture in our life..... And what I LOVE is that a lot of love is refraining from doing something bad! So, when I am wronged, I show love when I don't respond in anger back.... I don't have to become best friends with this person, I don't have to respond as the lies satan weaves....." Well, to show true love one must hug and make up" when I don't want to touch the other person.... No, love....true love, is allowing Christ to work through us....not showing "worldly" love.....but Godly love...... And there is a difference.

Let's watch our every actions today..... Love.....

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August 29, 2014 1 Peter 4:7 The End.

1 Peter 4: 7

The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.

I have to be completely honest...every since Taellor's departure from this earth, her death, her passing...whatever label we want to put on it....I have had to resist putting a sign around my neck that reads "The end is near."

I know there is a fine line between being passionate and being labeled so crazy that no one will listen.....but, listen, listen with not just your ears but your very soul....the end is near. Whether our end comes by the return of Christ or by our personal end here.....it is near. Be prepared, be ready, always.

What controls your mind today? What do you think about? God? The kingdom? Where does that fit in your thoughts? How much time today will you spend in your Bible...reading His words? The end is near, dear friend....it is.

I have been asked by several people....How do I experience God? I feel Him on the mission field...but not in my own life. He isn't doing anything. Abraham waited a long time for his promised son.....a long time. God was working that whole time...the whole time in his life...preparing him to be the father of that son...preparing his character. We tend to look upon our lives and note only the places that we see action....but character is built in the journey...in the quiet disciplines...in the moments when satan will whisper to us that our God is not even there.....

How do we respond? Do we give into the doubts...or do we push them aside and forge on knowing that God is working....always. But we have to do our part...we have to say...No matter what.....I will choose to follow Him, I will be obedient, no matter what...always...even in the quiet.

It's coming.......be ready.

August 28, 2014 1 Peter 4:6 Walk in Boldness....With Love

1 Peter 4:6

For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judge according to men in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit.

There are so many questions, right? What about those who died before Christ? What about those who never hear? What about.......? This verse tells us that even those who died before Christ...will know. Even them. God's word is true....if we believe...we believe all or not all....yes?

I had an interesting night last night.....I was able to listen to someone who I share many ideals with.... "Take me to the one who suffers the most." I can bear that burden with them..."Take me to the one that is most downtrodden" but where we differ is the purpose and reason why we do what we do.... I do it out of obedience to our Father, I do it so that others might know Him and through that will find eternal life and purpose for the world today....

I believe that love should be a big portion of our response to our world....but love that doesn't come through me but comes through me from Him...It isn't about me...it isn't. No matter which way the wind might blow, no matter how things end or begin....it is not about me. More of Him and less of me...to the point that I am a mere shadow shining amidst a great Light.

A shadow that will always be judged by men while I am here on this earth...a shadow that fault will always be found within. I find that my world today finds more criticism (I would say almost ten-fold) than my world of working in the hospital...and we are told that we should expect that, and I am here to testify that it is true. So, we be the peacemakers...we share love....but sometimes it may not look as the world would have it look.... I walk knowing that my judge will not be that person who heaps criticism from this world but will be from the heavenly Father...of whom I fear more.

Walk today in boldness....walk today knowing as you love in Christ's name that you will find strife....do it anyway.

August 26, 2014 1 Peter 4:5 Don't Settle for Being Invited to the Race....

1 Peter 4:5

But they will have to give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

There will come a day....when there will be no more tears, no more pain and no more fears....and there will be a day of judgement...even for believers....our salvation is secure, rest assured in that, but our activities here on this earth will be judged...

How have we lived? Have we lived worthy? Have our days, moments, hours, talents been used for the kingdom? Will we hear...Well done good and faithful servant...or will we squeak by resting only on our salvation?

I remember before I first became a Christian....the judgement day that my world focused on...was the judgement between heaven and hell...and then as I further delved into God's word I came to realize that there would be another judgement for believers...for our work done in this world.

And this frightened me...frightened me to my core. I have been given so much...the freedom of religion, freedom of education, financial, food and material securities that the majority of the world does not enjoy, freedom of speech..as many Bibles as I could ever want....and do I use it to the fullest potential that I could...and I do not....God has given us such and incredible opportunity....I have heard many people complain about the difficulties of being a Christian today in the USA....but truthfully, I see such opportunities for us as Christians born in American....such freedom, such abilities....

And yet, in our own freedom, we are seeing our own Biblical freedoms diminishing....let us not loose in our freedom what others are currently loosing their lives over...let us use our freedom not to seek our own agendas but rather to further His kingdom.... The day is coming...for some of us..it may come sooner than others....Each day, each moment brings that time closer....for those of us sure in our salvation, we will stand before the Father and of the many blessings and freedoms that we have been given..we will be judge accordingly.

Be ready....Run the race of our lives...don't settle for just being invited to the race...run to win the prize.....

August 25, 2014.... Stand in Obedience...Apart From the World

1 Peter 4:4

They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you.

Changes......Radical Changes.

I used to LOVE Halloween.  Loved it.  Taellor and Devon have memories I am sure of incredible Halloweens... We would all dress up, decorate the house, incredible Halloween parties..once did a Haunted House... LOVED it.  I also had a friend during this time who chose not to participate in Halloween....and oh the grief that I gave her.  "Really? Really? Just think what he is missing?  It is just fun!  Don't dress him up in scary costumes...just bring him." 

And then, my life changed.  I had such an incredible thirst for God's word...and read and read and read.  When I got to Deuteronomy 18:10-12 says this, “ Let no one be found among you who…practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord…”  I had to pause.....

I had an incident with a Ouija Board as a young girl that was pivotal in my thinking....as it was the dear friend I was with.  I had an experience that would forever change my view of horror movies and "senseless and fun" activities... 

Many years after I accepted Christ as my Savior, I answered God's call to go on an evangelistic team to an area of Nicaragua that is steeped greatly in dark magic and voodoo...and found myself again face to face literally with evil.  Face to face with evil..yet, a witness to God's provisions every step up the way beginning six months prior to the trip.  God is faithful.  Truly life changing....eye opening...and solidified my faith in our Father.

I returned from that trip understanding what I already knew to be true...that evil...no matter how pretty, no matter how dressed up or vogue...is evil.  It is.  And to partake in any of it...was wrong.  And, oh the grief that I caught...from our kids (We've always done it before! Why not now?" to our friends "What's the big deal? Do Trunk and Treat...it is church sponsored." ....and I caved.....until I met a real witch.  Yes, real witch.  Do you tell your children that they are fantasy?  Made up?  Very much alive and well....    And then I knew in my heart of hearts that I had to answer for my own obedience....and as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.  Now I live in a country where they think it is absolutely crazy that we would celebrate halloween..we would dress up as devils, witches and ghosts....

When we make changes, what the world considers "radical" changes, we will be messed with...we will.  Be ready.  And the opposition can be fierce...your changes may force them to reevaluate their lives..and that isn't always welcomed.  Be obedient..but be obedient humbly....walk with assurance....yet, walk softly.  Life isn't about a popularity contest.... Odds are there may be more that dislike you than truly like you....and as the end draws near...this will become even more apparent...so stand ready, armed with God's word...obedient in every step. (By the way, I have since apologized profusely to my sweet friend over the halloween incident!)

August 24, 2014...... Where Does God Rank?

1 Peter 4:3-4

For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do-living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry.

Debauchery is defined as extreme indulgence or decadence for pleasure of the senses.

Lust is defined as a strong sexual desire, or a strong desire for something

Drunkenness is defined as to be delirious with or as if with strong drink; intoxicated.

Orgies is defined as any actions or proceedings marked by unbridled indulgence of passions.

Carousing is defined as to engage in boisterous, drunken merrymaking.

Idolatry is defined as the worship of an object as a god.

God is telling us again....to live different. Live different from the world...live different from how we used to be prior to being Christians. In each of these, it seems to me that the common factor is extremeness that does not have a Godly focus. Extreme indulgence, extreme desire, extreme intoxication, extreme indulgence of passions, extreme merrymaking.....and worship of something other than the one true God.

I am very much an extremist...if I am not careful. My friends who know me well...know this. Whether it be Martial Arts, Yoga, Running, Reading, Working, Studying...you name it.... I can completely, completely overindulge. Some might call it just being an overachiever....but I have come to realize that for me...it is wrong. There is nothing wrong with any of those activities....until I let it go to the level past what is considered normal or "balanced". What is interesting...is that in this world, I can overindulge in any of these activities and be praised greatly....but when I "overindulge" into my relationship with Christ..I am quickly labeled as radical or cautioned about "crossing the line"....
Through my journey with Christ, I have learned that satan can take a good thing...a good activity, a good "project" and with my tendencies to overindulge can quickly use it as a way to pull me from God...pull me from my family...pull me from my real purposes in life. Just like Eve and fruit....if I am not careful, I will fall for it every time....every time. Tae was good with where she focused her time and talents. She "schooled" me constantly when I would start to veer.... I remember even after we had moved here to Nicaragua an opportunity presented itself for her to possibly dance here.... It would call for her to be disciplined again in the dance world, spending hours in the studio...but think of the possibilities that she could possibly minister too.... Very quickly, she closed that door...knowing full well where God intended her to be..where she had been called to minister to...not looking left or right but straight on into the journey God had laid before her...specifically for her.

I think many times when we read this verse in 1 Peter, we quickly glance through it dismissing it....if we drink, we don't drink to excess...or maybe we don't drink at all....married with no extramarital affairs and we don't worship statues...so we are fine. But when we look closer, we might not be so easily dismissed....If we aren't careful, we live lives of extremes... Where do we spend most of our time? Work? What about our time after work? How much time does God truly get in our lives? If someone else observed our lives for a week, a month, a year, how would they rank what we place of importance on in our lives? Where would God rank? Do we truly place Him first?

What can we do different tomorrow that will demonstrate not just to the world but to ourselves that He is the Lord of our life?

July 29, 2014.... Choose Different

1 Peter 2:11-12

Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.

Live in such a way that we bring glory and honor to our Creator.... Every day....in every circumstance....and this will be foreign to this world.

The book of 1 Peter tells us how, as Christians we are to be in this world so that others might know Him....how we are to respond, how we carry ourselves...because of whose we are...we are to choose to be different in order to glorify our Father.

When we are betrayed, ridiculed, slandered or worse, our response is the only thing we can control...and God tells us to live such good lives that those who are our critiques will take notice and will glorify God. Yet, the world we live in will tell us that we must stand up for ourselves or we will loose all respect, that we must defend our honor, we must defend our character....but this has never been about us.... It is Him that we are to glorify not ourselves....not our honor, not our character but His....and He will be glorified in our responses...or not.

The battle that rages against souls tries to poke and prod us...looking for weakness in our amor.. Is it our pride that is weak? Is it our feelings? What can satan provoke within us that will cause us to choose to respond in a manner that reflects this world...and not our Heavenly Father.

If we can choose to respond differently to this evilness (and it is all evil) and respond as children of God, then literally there will be a pause in the interaction. The fire of destruction will be weakened as we choose not to add fuel to a fire created by satan. I believe when we can truly see that it isn't flesh and blood that we battle against but rather the evil of this world....then instead of taking Light from the darkness....we start shining Light in a dark world.

I know that Jesus was angry in the temple...but what caused His anger? Defilement of His Father's house... People that were supposed to be taking care of His Father's people, actually taking advantage of them....and this brought out the wrath of Christ..... Jesus was provoked beyond our imagination....betrayed at the greatest level, mocked, slandered and, yet, when He did not allow satan to provoke a worldly response out of Him.... Maybe if He would have, they world would have accepted Him better..."oh, wait, he is one of us.." But no, it was never about Christ either but the one who sent Him.

We can choose to respond however we wish...and we will find those in this world who will praise our actions... It is your choice. Your actions. But for those who are children of Our Father, we have been called to live as strangers to this world...we have been called to glorify our Father with our actions....all of them.

This beautiful painting complete depicts what we believe was Tae's heavenly encounter while in this earth.... He's closer than we imagine.... Let's live worthy to be called His.