Author: Christine

Down 10 points in the game with minutes remaining. A work deadline that keeps you up late at night. A mountain of laundry that just keeps building. What is overwhelming you today? Have you brought it to the Lord in prayer? Perhaps this burden has been on your heart for weeks, months, even years. Continue to pray in faith that God can. He is Holy. Powerful. Limitless. Our God is able. When our feeble hearts fail, when we don’t have the strength to pray, when we begin to give up hope, throw in the towel… sit and meditate on who God is. Let your thoughts be given up to Him in prayer. He knows you intimately. Knows your every desire, every burden. Continue to walk faithfully, praying fervently, to our Holy, Sovereign, Creator God.

Romans 8:26 “And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.”

James 5:16b “…The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”

Sitting in the waiting room, looking at a child’s toy. Many cars. Ready to follow the different tracks. As an adult, we plan trips, check maps, GPS, talk to people who have been there, choose the best path.

As a follower of Christ, do we follow the prescribed way of following Jesus as laid out in God’s word? Or, do we choose our own path? A little bit of God, more of me?

Sometimes our planned path has detours, unforeseen obstacles and re-routing is necessary. As a Christian, let us be alert and watchful, not allowing the world, the news on our device, a trail, a diagnosis, failure, or outside influences detour or deter us from following the ONE way of Jesus!

Matthew 7:13-14 “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way.  But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.”

Matthew 7:21 ““Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.”

Important. Stop what you are doing to tune in. Back in the day, it was proclaimed, “Extra! Extra! Read all about it!”

In a culture that has stopped going to church, stopped believing in God, stopped believing EVERYTHING in the Bible is true, is current, is God-breathed, here is the breaking news: Jesus died for you! If you believe Jesus is the Son of God, died on the cross for you, is the perfect sacrifice, took on the wrath of God poured out at the cross, and lay your sins at the foot of the cross, you are forgiven! You are now a redeemed child of God. But don’t just stay there. Connect with a Christian friend who can mentor you. Join a bible believing church, read the Bible. Get to know your Savior.

In a culture that just reads the headlines, here is the Breaking News, the Good News:

” Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you… Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,  that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,” 1 Corinthians 15:1, 3-4

Cooking molds, jello molds, ice cube trays. Something that takes a liquid and conforms it to its image, transforming it from a liquid with no shape to a solid with a specific shape.

The J.B. Phillips New Testament translation says, “Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within…” Romans 12:2

As humans, we are molded at a young age by our parents. Routines, traditions, morality, values, respect are first taught in the home. As we grow, we develop our own values and morality which may or may not be influenced by our parents. Outside influences begin to have a greater affect on our value and morality system in the form of friends, teachers, employers, culture.

When we come to faith in Jesus Christ, He is our Great Influencer. Our faith, when cultivated, will mold us into the likeness of our Savior. Our thoughts, our words, our desires, what we read, where we go, how we act, begin to reflect Him. The change may be gradual at first but as a Christian continues to walk in obedience, God transforms us from the inside out, that we may be witnesses of His great love, testifying of His amazing grace. Allow God to mold you into an image bearer that seeks to please Him in your daily living.

A magnificent mountain view. A glorious sunrise/sunset. The birth of a child. Beautiful, wonderful, miraculous. Events that can leave us speechless. We take in. We meditate. We gaze in wonder. Words fail us. We try to capture the moment, perhaps take a picture. It is memorable.

So it is with the loved poured out at the cross. Jesus took the full wrath of God, for us. That by believing, we have life in His name. That as we read, study, meditate on the gracious, merciful love of Jesus, we are left speechless. We are in awe of His love for us. We are filled with joy. 1 Peter 1:8b “Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,”

“So our joy is “inexpressible and glorified” because it is joy in loving Christ and trusting Christ who is inexpressibly glorious.” John Piper (https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/true-christianity-inexpressible-joy-in-the-invisible-christ)

On the bike trail. Ride mapped out. On our way. Suddenly, changes are made. A bobcat on the trail. Staying a safe distance. Watching to see the path it takes. Coming our way, we turn around. Make a new plan. Chart a new course. Safety first. Our next encounter with nature is turkeys. Stay on course this time. Stick with the new plan.

How many times do we chart our course, map it out and go. Along the way, we encounter danger, a crisis, a roadblock. But God already knows the plan, the direction He wants us to take. Seek God in your life. Include Him in your plans. Listen to His leading and trust in Him. His ways, His plans are always best.

Weeding. Raking. Re-potting. Not normally something I do in our flower garden. Having some time today, though, my husband asked for assistance. I am helping. Wearing gloves. Always on the look-out for critters!!

It was good to do something out of the ordinary today. My focus on the task at hand and not on self. Sweating. Pulling. Hydrating. Taking breaks, as needed.

When given the chance, step out of the daily and into the new. Deep cleansing breaths. Thanking God for the opportunity and availability. It was good for the soul and my spirit was uplifted.

We know the slogan, “Do Not Touch.” Why? Is it wet paint? Is it fragile? Can we just take it at face value and move on? A child may linger, tempted to touch but the mature adult reads the sign, sizes up the area and moves on.

“Hands Off” as a mature Christian can be difficult. If you, like I, have family members, teens, young adults, we want to come to their rescue. We size up their circumstances, come up with a solution and offer aide. While sometimes this is practical and prudent, there are times we need a “hands off” approach. We need to trust God with our adult children. We need to pray for patience for ourselves, wisdom, for discernment. But we also need to put our children in God’s hands. Pray for strength, clarity that our children would see God in their circumstances and trust Him. Obey His words. The same words they learned as a child are the same words they can trust as an adult.

Deuteronomy 6:5-7 “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.  And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.”

Work turned in that is unfinished. A house under construction sitting, waiting for more materials. A room partially cleaned by a child. This week, I have pondered the term “incomplete.” In my own life, I have started projects, full of excitement, trying something but losing steam and not seeing the project through to fruition.

As I reflect on my Christian life, how has my obedience to God’s word been? As an empty-nester, I have more time to devote to God. But even with more available time, I have to check my heart attitude. Am I checking off a to-do list for God, looking good to the world but empty inside? Or am I earnestly seeking to grow in Christ, under the working power of the Holy Spirit?

I know in this life, my faith will be incomplete. It isn’t until I meet my Savior face to face, “I will be like Him because I will see Him as He is.” (1 John 3:2) Until that day, though, I continue to live as a Christian, in a sinful body, being resolute each day in my focus of walking in Christ-like obedience, looking forward to the day when my faith will be complete.

Listening to Mercy Me the other day, I heard this phrase, “Beyond the noise.” I started thinking, “How do I pursue God beyond the noise?”

When my boys were little, I found a quiet respite in the bathroom. At work, I would close my door at lunchtime to get past the noise, the distractions, the to-do lists to pursue God. Now, I wake up early, before my day starts, to spend time with God.

Some seasons of life are busier, noisier than others. In those seasons, maybe 5-10 minutes per day is all you have. Other seasons quiet down. The children are grown, the busy season over so you have more time to pursue God. Praise the Lord. Whatever season you find yourself, I pray you would find 5-10-15 minutes each day to move beyond the noise. Put down the to-do list, quiet the worried and anxious thoughts filling your head and pursue God.