For Them

I am doing the Bible study Esther, by Beth Moore. She said something that really moved me. She talked about having a past. She called it a "risky identification." We try to hide that "risky identification" so that we won't be judged.

But Beth Moore said that perhaps God wants you to tell. She went on to say, "you went through it 'for them,' and if they can't see it, what good is it?"

In the Bible, when Joseph was sold into slavery by his own brothers he spent years falsely imprisoned before he finally was put into service under the Pharaoh. When he saw his brothers again, he didn't lament all his troubles to them, instead he said, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." (Gen 50:20)

In the book of Matthew, a blind man is brought to Jesus. Jesus' disciples asked Jesus who had sinned, the man or his parents, for the man to be blind. Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life." (John 9:3)

What pain are you going through in your life today? Or what past pain are you holding against God because He let it happen to you in the past?

Maybe it happened "for them" to save lives or so that God may be displayed to others through your story. I have a hard time with why God let my childhood go as it did. Yes, I've even been mad at God. But to think that it happened "For them" makes it hurt a little less.

Why not try to let go of your pain today, and instead focus on who can benefit as a result of your experiences. Display God. He let it happened for them.

Digging Deeper

Do you garden? I'm not a fan of gardening. It's so much work! The worst part are the weeds. You need to pull even the tiniest weeds. It's better to get them while they are small. Those tiny little ones are the monsters of the patch a week or two later. The weeds that are close to your plants rob them of moisture and nutrients. And the worst part is, most weeds require pulling out all of the root system.

Isn't sin that way too?

To read the rest of this post, head on over to Titus 2 in Action, where I'm a guest contributor every other Wednesday, starting today!

The Recipe

When baking a cake, it calls for flour, sugar, baking powder, egg, flavoring such as vanilla or cocoa, oil or shortening, and liquid such as milk or water. Each of these ingredients is important to the recipe. Without flour, they're be no cake. Without sugar it would be bitter, without baking powder it would be flat, without egg it would be dense, the flavoring gives it the yummy taste, the oil/shortening gives it texture and the liquid makes it light. Every ingredient is important, and to take one out would change the end result.

Likewise, there are 5 ingredients to salvation. They are:
Hear
Believe
Repent
Confess
Be Baptized

You must "hear." If you haven't heard the Gospel, you can't believe it. You must believe that the Bible is true. You must repent, being truly sorry for your sins, and admit you need to turn away from them. You must confess Jesus is the Lord of your life, and finally your must be baptized.

If you leave out any of these steps, just like the cake recipe, you will end up with a different result. Follow the recipe and you'll end up with a sweet treat - eternal life.

Romans 10:9 -- That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Acts 2:38 -- Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.




For more information on how to be saved, Visit the How 2B Saved Website.

Don't forget to visit the kickoff post of Titus 2 in Action today! I'll be serving there as a guest contributor every other Wednesday, starting this Wednesday.

Vampires

Remember when Vampires were associated with evil? The old movies and scary stories of vampires included ways to avoid them (garlic) and to kill them (stake in the heart or a silver bullet). But suddenly the world has lost sight of the evil of vampires.

Vampires now are sexy and exciting. Twilight, Vampire Diaries, and other vampire shows, movies and books have made the evil alluring. At the end of the movie, the main character in Twilight asks the vampire to bite her so she can be like him.

I think that is exactly how the Devil operates. He doesn't come down in a scary swoop threatening to drink your blood and kill you. No, he fools you into believing the evil is exciting and alluring. Soon you want the evil thing, no longer believing it be evil.

I think our young people are the most susceptible to this change in perception. The world is taking what is evil and making it normal or desirable. And I find that scarier than vampires.

But there is another thing that makes Vampires go away. Do you remember? It's the cross. When you hold up the cross, the vampire shrinks away in fear. So does the devil. The cross is the power of God. Mighty is the power of the cross.

1 Corinthians 1:18 -- For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Galatians 6:14 -- May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Chris Tomlin - Mighty is the Power of the Cross

Thankful Thursday - 10/29

My 5 things this week:

1. I'm thankful that my oldest daughter is better and at school this week. We got to spend 5 days of quality time together when she was out of school sick last week.

2. I'm thankful that now I get to spend lots of quality time with my younger daughter, as she is home sick this week. (!) Oh yes, she is. Her fever was 103.8 and I am so thankful that she is feeling better and her fever is now more managable.

3. Thankful for friends who have been helping me out by doing little ins and outs for me while I'm stuck at home (like picking up a supply my oldest needed at school, or delivering a meal to me).

4. I'm thankful that I'm going out to dinner with a girlfriend tonight. I need a night out, and it will be fun to eat & be merry. I'm thankful that my husband is going to stay with the kids and let me step out for a couple of hours.

5. I'm thankful that we get our puppy on Saturday. The girls CANNOT wait!

What are you thankful for? Leave a comment or write a post and link up at Truth for the Journey by clicking the button below.

God's Masterpiece

This is a bit longer video than I usual post, but I thought it was so good. Watch it. You are God's original masterpiece. :-)



Ephesians 2:10 -- For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (NLT)

The Gifts of Facebook

“Katherine sent you a cup of coffee.”

My first Facebook gift! My friend Katherine had been encouraging me to get connected by joining Facebook for a while. When I did, I was amazed at the number of my current friends who were already on the social networking website. I also reconnected with many old friends, and got to know them better. The site allowed me to connect with people I hadn’t spoken to in years.

It wasn’t long before I received the cup of coffee notification. All of my friends know I love coffee. There is something so rich in the coffee experience for me; the smell, the feel of the hot mug in my hands, the taste. It is all so satisfying to me. Imagine my surprise when I clicked the link looking for my coffee gift card and discovered there was no gift card. There was no coffee at all. It was a faux cup of coffee! While I appreciated the gesture involved, there was no satisfaction in my pretend coffee.

Next I received a notice that someone had given me a green plant. Of course it was a faux green plant. Soon someone else was “passing out drinks.” There were gifts of puppies, candies and flowers. Someone baked me a cake. None were real.

I must admit I found this whole faux gift giving rather juvenile. If the gifts aren’t real, then let’s dream big. Give me a car, boat or mansion. Why stop at a cup of coffee? The truth is, they were calling it a cup of coffee, but there was nothing behind it.

It made me think about my relationship with God. In my early 20’s, I told people I was a Christian. I didn’t go to church, or read the Bible, or even pray. I was like a Facebook cup of coffee. I said I was a Christian, but there was nothing behind it. I believed in God, but there was no richness in my relationship with God, and consequently, no satisfaction. I was a faux Christian.

I met a real Christian friend in my late 20’s. She shared truths from the Bible with me. She got me interested in learning more. I started going to church and became an active member. I joined a Bible study. While in that study, I read a passage in James that said, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that – and shudder.” (James 2:19) This passage surprised me. There was more to Christianity than just believing in God?

I realized that saying I was a Christian simply because I believed in God, was like saying I am giving you a cup of Facebook coffee. Saying it doesn’t make it real. Through the book of James I realized that my faith, my belief, should inspire a change in me. This change would then produce a desire to learn more about Jesus, and to act on my beliefs, not just believe. As that happened that richness was there. My outward actions matched my inward belief.

James was a good place for me to start. It was a short book of the Bible that was easily readable and understandable. I continued in Bible study, and read more and more of the Bible. Soon I was able to make decisions in my life based on what I knew was God’s will, not mine.

The more I knew about God, the more I wanted to know. As I connected with God, I received gifts from him. His gifts, however, were real. They included spiritual gifts, the gift of the Holy Spirit and the greatest gift, eternal life through Jesus.

I found there is true richness and satisfaction in a relationship with God. Like a hot cup of coffee, there is warmth there. Improving my relationship with God doesn’t require “Facebook.” It involves putting my face into the book, the Bible. That’s how I got to know God better. I am connected, and social networking has nothing to do with it.