Simple Thoughts

Family members. Close friends. Your spouse. Yes. They know you well. Your likes, dislikes. Your passions. Your hobbies. Your insecurities. It is nice to be around people who “get” you.

What if I said the One who gets you best is Jesus. The Bible tells us: “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;” (Psalm 139:13-14) He created you in His image. You bear His likeness. As such, we should want to declare and proclaim Jesus in our lives. In our speech, in our words, in our actions. And totally, fully in our heart. Because Jesus knows us, gets us, we should want to know Him. He is the Son of God. He came into this world fully God and fully man. He walked this earth, was in all points tempted yet never sinned. Hebrews 4:14-16: “Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.  Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

He called people to Himself. Calling people to repent of their sins, their idols, their pride, their fallenness and to pick up their cross and follow Him. Luke 9:23 “Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” Because of Jesus, we can walk in newness of life. Because of Jesus, when we confess our sins and put our faith and trust in Him, as the Son of God and His finished work on the cross, we can lay aside our burdens and “let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,” (Hebrews 12:1). Let us pursue Him with our whole heart. Our life.

Jesus gets you because He created you. Do you know Jesus? Do you know your Redeemer, Sustainer, Provider, Savior and Lord?

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Jenny and Tom * were neighbors of ours. After we moved, we soon found out they had separated. What seemed like a happy family, was turned upside down by sin. We were saddened to hear this and lifted them up in prayer. Seeing them occasionally, independent of each other, we were a listening ear. Fast forward to this morning, 5 years later. On our walk, we took a route we don’t normally take and we ran into Jenny and Tom, walking together. A divine appointment. We exchanged pleasantries and as our walk resumed, we praised God for allowing us to see this healed relationship.

Romans 5:6 “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.”

Thank you for the cross. For through Jesus, we can have reconciliation with God. Romans 4: 24b-25 “assuring us that God will also count us as righteous if we believe in him, the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God.” And in the love of Christ, though the leading of the Holy Spirit, we can reconcile with one another.

Romans 5:10-11 “For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.”

* not their real names

Lent begins today. Growing up Catholic, we went to church, received the ashes and decided what we were going to “give up.” The sacrifice would be for 40 days. Easter, the celebration of our Living Sacrifice, Jesus, conquering death and the grave.

What if, instead of “giving up” we focused on “giving in.” Giving in to God’s word and reading it daily. Giving in to God’s commands and submitting to His authority in our lives. Giving in to allowing God to rule in our hearts. Give in to Jesus this Lenten season. Allow His peace, His perfect peace that surpasses all understanding, lay hold of your heart as you rest in Him.

Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Chaos and deception began in the garden. Eve was given new information, lies from Satan and her mind was swirling. She did not know who to believe. Adam had walked with God and taught Eve directly from God. Now, Satan was twisting God’s truth, making them half-truths. It sounded appealing to Eve, just as the fruit appealed to her senses.

Genesis 3:1 “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”

In today’s culture, as a Christian, we need to make sure the truths we are hearing from our pastors, teachers and evangelists are truths from God’s word. Not half-truths. Not a message that is watered down, sugary and pleasing to the ears. Otherwise, chaos will ensue.

2 Timothy 4:2-4 “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,  and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”

Let us be on guard against the lies, deception and chaos that makes Satan happy.

Jude 18-19 ““In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions. It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit.”

We are told to guard our hearts and minds. To mature in the faith. Plug in to truth in scripture bible studies. Open God’s word and directly learn from Him.

Jude 24-25 “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy,  to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”

Let the peace of God rule in your hearts that we may share the love of Christ with the world that they may not be deceived.

I am not a gardener by any means. Worms, snakes, lizards, bees will all move me back to my perch on the porch! Today, however, I was looking for a physical activity after doing a word study in the Bible for over an hour. My head was overflowing with verses and not sure of the direction I wanted to take, I walked into the yard. Pruning, weeding, munching, pulling out dead leaves. It freed my mind to “chew” on the things of God. It allowed my body to move, squat, lift. The beautiful blue sky, the gentle breeze brought peace and calm. Yes, the task was tedious, my back a little sore, but praising God in the garden.

I Corinthians 15:58 “be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”

1 Corinthians 10:31 “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

A delicious meal. A job well done. A restful vacation. What do you look for to satisfy you? Food and drink. Work. Play. Yes, yes and yes. These all bring us satisfaction in life. Brings value and meaning or purpose to our life. Where do you put God in your list of things that satisfy?

The Bible says we should look to God every morning, rest and meditate on His steadfast love. Then, we will rejoice and be glad all the days we have on earth. Not that we won’t have trials and tribulations, too. We will. But God… and His steadfast, covenant keeping, promise keeping love will sustain us. He fills us up and we rejoice and are glad all of our days because of Him. God doesn’t change. His love runs deep. His word is truth. He is faithful to His promises. We can be satisfied in this steadfast, loyal, faithful love because of WHO He is and WHAT He has done/is doing. Let us fill up with God first before we go looking to be satisfied in other ways.

Bike riding has been a fun activity for me as long as I can remember. Riding bikes with my dad. Riding bikes all over town with my sister and neighbor friends. Riding bikes with my 3 boys. Now, riding bikes with my husband. Exploring. Pedaling. Wind in our face. Excursions. A chance to get outdoors. Enjoy nature. Exercise. Not many hills in my neck of the woods but when there is a decline in elevation, I pedal harder, faster and enjoy the thrill. Kid-like exuberance in the downhill.

For me, bike riding is a time to praise and worship God. As I ride, I continually thank Him for His blessings. I look around at His creation, the beautiful sights I am seeing and praise Him. Bike riding is something I enjoy- past, present and hopefully future. But I know there will come a day when I will hang up my bike for the last time. Our earthly joys, however fun, pleasurable, and exciting, are temporal. The joy I have in knowing that I am a child of the Most- High God, that is eternal.

I pray as you journey through this life, you take time to find joy. Not only in the momentary things but in the lasting, eternal joy in the Lord.

Psalm 16: 8, 11 “I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me…You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever”

Many of us have received gifts over the course of our lifetime. Birthday gifts. Retirement gifts. Marriage gifts. It is wonderful to be on the receiving end of these gifts of love and well wishes. As the giver of a gift, we find joy in the giving, seeing pleasure, love, and appreciation from the receiver of our gift.

As I was studying Genesis 6, the word grace came up. Naturally, I went to Ephesians 2:8 and re-read for the hundredth time and as I did, I focused on the word, “the.” Grace is not just “a” gift from God, it is “the” gift.” This gift, this grace, is what we all need but so are undeserving. We sin. We fail. We lash out. But God, in His great mercy, loved us so much He sent His Son to die on our behalf. Taking on the wrath and punishment we deserve, for us. This gift of grace is “the” gift He takes joy in giving to us. As recipients of this grace, let us humbly bow in thanksgiving and praise God for His gift, the gift of grace.

Because of Jesus…

You fill in the blank. I thought I was “okay” without Jesus. I was a young professional, living on my own, successful in worldly terms. I knew, however, something was missing. Life was more than this, right? When I was introduced to Jesus on the pages of scripture, my life changed. I was filled with the Holy Spirit, where there was once emptiness and longing. Living for Him, learning of Him, worshipping Him, my life now came into focus. He, Jesus, transformed me and put me on a new path.

We can have eternal life… John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

We have a Redeemer… Galatians 3:13 “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.”

We have access to God… John 14:6 “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Our lives are transformed... Romans 12:2 “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

We walk in newness of life… Romans 6:4 “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”

We pursue holiness…2 Peter 1:4 “ And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.”

We have hope… Romans 15:13 “I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.”

We are at peace… Romans 5:1 “Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.”

We need not fear… Isaiah 41:10 “fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Our desires change…Galatians 5:24 “And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”

We are a new creation… 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

Because of Jesus we can know God and that is everything!

You overslept. Plans changed. You re-group. Instead of being upset, disappointed, God opens your eyes to more of Him. Opportunities to enjoy this day “off” and just think on Him. Thankful for His provisions. Grateful for this quiet day to read more of Him. To understand His rule, His reign, is perfect. In heaven and on earth. An opportunity to read about the faithful prophet, Daniel. In the midst of opposition, of jealousy, behind enemy lines, he looked heavenward. Not just once in a while. Not just once a day. He was on his knees three times a day, every day. Believing God can. Faithfully serving God despite his circumstances. Giving God all the glory. Humble. Thankful. Faithful.

Every day that is given, with every breath I breathe, may I, too, be humble, thankful, faithful. Thank you Lord for this reminder. You turned my missed plans into exactly what You knew I needed today. More of You. Less of me.