Families Rallied

Growing up in a small town was a blessing.  At Easter time families rallied around the School for events concerning the death and resurrection of Christ.  We would be loaded onto School buses after lunch and driven down to the Paramount Theatre to watch a stage play of the Crucifixion right out of the scriptures.  No, there was no Easter egg hunt or silly stories read to us about that ol' Peter cottontail rabbit.  It was a time for children to see what Easter was all about.  The Paramount theatre hosted the event every year free of charge to everyone.  Oh, how I loved those times of Christian values that no longer exist in a post-modern world of blasphemy against God.

In the 1950's we never heard a gunshot in school and such a thing would never even be thought of!  My heart goes out to the Parents of the seventeen victims in the Florida school shooting.  It's hard to believe that it has been two weeks since it happened.  Easter is near and Christ will not be honored in that school or any other Public School for that matter.  

My mind wanders back to those days when the Ten Commandments hung in the School hallway and Bibles laid on the desks of teachers.  The Schools have been suffering now for a long time now as we live in a day where Satan rules the school system.  Evolution has taken the place of the living God and there are no more sounds of joyous children being loaded onto buses to watch a play about the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.  

Galatians 6:4-5

Some people seem to have it all together.  They do all the important things in life right on target.  Education, marriage, and then after a couple of years a family.  Nothing wrong with that, but there is a snare we can fall into if we do not know the ways of the devil.  Satan tempts us who belong to the Lord to think that "if" we had done things differently we would be as happy as they.  Some people are living their lives better than others, but it is a sin to compare our lives with their lives.

Galatians 6:4-5

"Don’t compare yourself with others. Just look at your own work to see if you have done anything to be proud of. 5 You must each accept the responsibilities that are yours".

There are football players making millions while soldiers are making 18,000.00 a year.  Is this fair?  I can report to you that what seems unfair to us is very fair to God.  He predestined everything before anything was made.  God is just in all that He has done and will do.  

So the next time you catch yourself wishing you had someone else's life, think about this verse.  It will help because the wisdom of God will overcome thoughts that come from the enemy.

Why Are We Sick?

When Adam sinned the world fell into a lost state, spiritually and physically.  We are under the curse in which dwells sickness, disease, and death.  There are, however, some things we can do to avoid some illnesses.   This requires wisdom and application to one's habits.  Obesity is the number one killer today.  Not all who are overweight have sinned through gluttony.  Some have a problem in the body that cannot be corrected.  This is most unfortunate, but many are sick due to the bad habits of over eating in our life.

This is nothing new, of course, but with so many diets out there and fitness programs where is the answer that we seek with so much diligence?  It's not an easy one, but through God's Word and asking for a breakthrough we can have victory over this thing that can and will kill us.  My objective is to help and not to condemn anyone in this article.  If you are one out of so many who can accept the answer then I want to encourage you to "stay the course".

What can we do to reach this victory?  We desire health and not good looks first of all.  Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit and we are required to take good care of them.  Out of God's mercy we can be more well than we are right now.  Food is a spiritual battle...it was used to cause the fall of mankind!  We never see it as a battle though, we excuse it as a blessing and therefore to be enjoyed.  This is partly true, the other part is that it is also something to fight against.  Excusing is the problem and the answer is facing it as the cause of why we are so sick today.  If you have read this far, then please finish.  Ask the Lord for a breakthrough and He will give it to you.  This information is not for all, but for those who can receive it, may the Lord bless you abundantly with better health in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior forever!

Rapture?

I met a lady once three decades ago who told me, "If they believe in a Post-Tribulation, let them stay here. I'm going in the Rapture!".  I thought it to be somewhat funny at the time, but was it worth thinking about?  I had always believed in the Rapture and still do, so while I'm mulling it over in my mind I might as well write about it.  

Matthew 24:41 "Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left". There are many scriptures to prove the Rapture.  Mind you, I'm speaking from my belief as I see them. If this should happen today, where would you be Spiritually?  Would you be taken or would you be left? I have a Granddaughter who wrote once, "There are so many people in Church who don't believe that Jesus is coming back again".  She was eleven years old at that time.  Do we really believe it or are we so dulled in our senses to the Holy Spirit that we hardly pray or read His Word?  When I was young I was so caught up in doing work for God that I probably forgot that what He wanted most was "me".  Now, I'm old and He gives me the wisdom to know that my next breath comes from His hand.  

The Rapture is something I hadn't thought about in a long time.  Rather than debating when it will happen is really immaterial to me now.  Our senses have been dulled to the Holy Spirit and this is the real thing we should be wrestling with at this very moment. What does it mean to be "dulled"? It means to be bored.  We have become "bored" with God.  Going to Church is a great thing, but if it just makes us feel better about ourselves then something is amiss.  If we have lost the ability to repent when we have sinned against God, then we are in dire straights, my friend.  If we are just going through the motions of being a Christian then we might be in deep trouble with the Lord.

Let us ask God for the wisdom to we need to live as He wants us to and not as we want.

What Is Love?

Can you explain it?  I could be in the midst of one hundred men and still be in love with only one?No, we can't understand the mystery of love any more than we can understand the miracle of creation. We hear that "God loves us", but do we know how to connect to this truth?  It has been my experience that we think of God's love as human's love.  Too often we find that those of us who are saved see the Lord as a God who is not personal. But how can that be when His Word says that He has named every star in the heavens!! (Psalm 147:4 "He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names"). No, the thing we want to know is how do we connect with Him as a loving Father?  We tend to see Him as our earthly father, who did not love us tenderly.

It is hard for some people to receive love.  I'm one of them.  So if we fall into this category then we have the dilemma of always fighting our feelings in order to let God comfort us when we are sad or in times of not understanding why bad things are happening to us.  My heavenly Father always does something to prove His love for me, but the struggle comes first.  He is tender and loves us even when we do not trust Him to care for us.  His love and mercy are greater than we could ever imagine!!  I have seen Him in this great mercy so many times and I have marveled, but then the next time again I struggle.  He knows we are but dust and He makes no demands on us like our earthly fathers who only knew how to love with an earthly love.  One that shows very little compassion.

Satan desires to rob us of God's wonderful love.  He works on our feelings with his lies and we listen to him all too much.  I once asked the Lord what He was thinking while He was on the Cross and this is what He said to me, "I was thinking of you".  For me, the struggle ends when I recall the moment He spoke those amazing words to me!  Psalm 8:4 What is man that You take thought of him, And the son of man that You care for him?

  

What Is Sin?

What is sin?  An easy question, but what is the answer?  To sin is to break a religious law willfully.  I got to thinking though that there are many sins we dismiss, even though we may be aware that they are sins to us.  Is dancing a sin? Some believe it is and others see nothing wrong with it, so how do we really know?  Is wearing makeup a sin?  2 Kings 9:30 "When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it. And she painted her eyes and adorned her head and looked out of the window".  We all know that Jezebel had the rebellion of a witch, so is it a sin to wear eye shadow?  Now, we can take a good look at something that is rarely ever taught in Church.  It is my belief that the Holy Spirit is the best teacher, so I rely on Him instead of the Church to teach me. Of course, we should never stop listening to teachers who are called by the Lord. The first one is my way and the second way I also do.

Is it a sin to wear a bathing suit?  Since there are so many "gray" areas to deal with let us go to Romans 14:23 "But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin".  If I have doubts as to whether it is wrong for ME, then it is sin. Personally, I do not wear bathing suits and I don't dance (only at home with my husband).  Another sister in Christ may not see anything wrong with wearing eye shadow, wearing a swim suit, or dancing.  Although, I have never known a real born again Christian who approved of dancing in public.

When it comes to wearing makeup there is a difference between that which enhances and "war paint", if you know what I mean.  If it makes you cringe then it is a sin to you. That is the answer.  These convictions must come from your Spirit and not your fleshly feelings.  This subject has been a hard saying to write about because most Christians love "Modesty" and that includes me, but if someone does not have any doubts then it is not a sin to them.  Wow!! I can feel there are some reading this that would throw me to the lions.

John 7:24 "Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”

Love Your Children

Why did you become a parent?  If the answer to that is I wanted to be one because babies are a precious part of God's plan for married couples then you deserve a medal!  My guess would be that only one percent of all parents would have given that answer.  

As a child growing up I had parents who never said, "I love you". They came from a different generation where little affection was shown to their children.  Many wealthy families in that era of the early 1900's "made room for their children".  I once was in one of these homes during a tour and the children slept on a cot in the corner of the sewing room.  It was odd to me, but the tour guide said that it was the norm of the day.  "Children should be seen, but not heard" was the thought pattern for them during those times.

There has to be a happy medium somewhere concerning children and how we are to love them.  If we spoil them, then they will control us.  Today the thought seems to be "I want them to have what I didn't have".  Loving children is an art and it comes from the One who created us.  This art is no easy task indeed.  

It calls for a strong hand delivered with a gentle Spirit.  Chew on that for a life time and you will have conquered the greatest task in the world!  May the Lord give us the wisdom to cherish our little ones and at the same time raise them in a world where Satan desires to destroy them.