Spiritual Food for Women

Becoming a Grandma- Part 2

December 24th, 2023

Becoming a Grandma

Part 2

How big of a difference does a grandmother make in a child’s life? Well, I can say for certain that both of my grandmothers were huge impacts in my life. I loved being with both of them. When I was with either of them, it was all about me, and I loved every minute of it. I was the first grandchild on both sides and I could do no wrong in their eyes. The next two paragraphs are tributes to my grandma, Edna Cordelia (Bunch) Thaxton Hasty, and my grandmother, Wilma Edith (Bumbalow) Hill. They both hold a special place in my heart forever.

My Grandma Edna was an amazing woman and a fine Christian when she passed away in August of 2009. I have no doubt that I will see her again. She was always thinking of others, and she had this way of making everyone she talked to feel special. Watching her interact with others was truly a thing of beauty. She was really amazing! People loved her, because she made them feel loved. She always wanted to make memories with me and boy did she ever do that! Whenever I was with her, it was all about me and what I wanted to do. Every kid needs someone like that in their life when they are growing up….you know? Someone that makes it all about them when they are with that person? Whether it was playing Yahtzee until 2 am or shooting hoops on the driveway, we always had a ball. She moved to Florida with my aunt after my grandpa passed away. I was only three years old when he passed away. She was only 49 when she became a widow….four years younger than I am now. How devastating that must have been for her as well as for my dad and my aunt. She eventually remarried, and started a new life in Florida. But our closeness was not affected by the miles between us. I talked to her on the phone often, and starting at age eight, I got to go stay with her for two weeks every summer! It was the highlight of my whole summer, maybe even my whole year! While I was there, we always did fun things that I wanted to do. She fixed the best meals with all my favorite foods. We played games non-stop. I learned to swim at one of her neighbor’s houses who had a pool. It was always an awesome trip! My trip usually included a trip to a beach or an amusement park or both, with her and my precious aunt. They were both so good to me, and gave me such wonderful memories that I will treasure always. When I was around 18, she moved back home to Tennessee. I was so thankful to have her close. I went to her house for breakfast every Saturday morning before I went to work in my parents’ store. After I got married, we would take Saturday trips to the Chinese restaurant that we both loved so much, and then have coffee at Waffle House before we came home. Our talks were endless and I loved every minute of them. Then, when my kids came along, it was all about them! She kept them for me quite a bit while I worked until they were old enough to start school. My daughter, Rhiannon, remembers her draining peach juice off the peaches for her to drink from a glass, having baked sweet potatoes at her house because they were her favorite, and watching “Price Is Right” and other game shows with her. My son, Jordan, loved to sit in her lap at church when he was a baby and touch her newly done hair that she had done weekly. Everyone in the building could tell that he thought her hair was just beautiful! Grandma was also a die-hard Atlanta Braves fan, and Jordan loved to talk baseball with her. He was a sports fan from the time he could speak. Both of my children got to make wonderful memories with her, and I’m so thankful that they got to know her. I’m so glad that she got to pass the special way that she loved me down to them. Her love helped make all of us who we are today.

My Grandmother Hill was a fine Christian woman who passed away from breast cancer in 2001. She was an example of pure strength to me, and I know that I will see her again as well. When I was young, I loved staying with her. She read stories to me from the books that she read to my mom and her siblings. I actually have that set of books out on display in my home. She taught me the books of the Bible, and she taught me how to crochet. I can’t crochet now, but I loved learning how to do it at the time. I just enjoyed the time she took to teach me how to do something new. It didn’t matter what it was. It was simply time spent together that was special. She would give me all of her Reader’s Digest and National Geographic magazines when she finished with them, because she knew that I loved to read them. I got to spend many a night with her and be the center of attention for both her and my granddad. My cousins and I would always get to go to their house for a week in the summer. We always had a ball, but I know we were a handful! I’m thankful for those times we got to spend together as kids. Grandmother Hill went to Draughn’s Business College when she was young. She worked for H and R Block tax service for a while. She eventually made the decision to leave H and R Block and start her own business. She was told by someone, a manager I suppose, that she couldn’t do that. But my grandmother did not let that stop her. She went to a friend who was a lawyer. Her friend told her that she had every right to start her own business, and a letter was sent to H and R Block from the lawyer stating that fact. She had her business in downtown McMinnville for a couple of years, and built up a good clientele. Then, when my granddad’s health began to fail, she moved her business to her home so she could be close to him as she worked. He passed away in 1993, but she continued to run her tax business for several years until her own health failed. Jeff and I had her do our taxes after we were married. She insisted on doing them for free. We would go out to eat afterwards and pay for her meal. When she became too ill to run her business, she referred all her clients, including us, to another older lady who was running her own tax business. She wanted to help another independent woman like herself to be successful. I was so impressed with how she did all that. My grandmother came from a time where women were not typically encouraged to start their own businesses. She showed me an example of strong will, ingenuity, courage, and confidence. I only wish my own children could have gotten to know her. We all need strong women in our lives as we grow up and I have so many, two of them being both my grandmothers. They both faced great adversity, and showed great strength in the face of it. I am forever grateful to God for them both. I hope that I can be a combination of these two wonderful women, for Brandon and all my future grandchildren…….with my own spin on it, of course!!

Like I said before, it was all about me when I was with my grandma and my grandmother. I’m sure I’ll be the same way with Brandon and all my other grandbabies that come after him. I realized something that makes me really happy! With my grandbabies, I won’t have to “be the bad guy” the way that I had to be sometimes with my own children. That means, the bulk of the discipline will be up to my daughter and son-in-law, just like the bulk of the discipline of my own children was for Jeff and I. That is the way it should be, and that will be a nice change for me. I never liked being “the bad guy”. No parent does, but because we love our kids, we have to say “no” to things that we know are not in their best interest. We also have to give out consequences to our kids for their not-so-good behavior at times. I’m sure that I’ll have to say “no” to my grandson at some point, and possibly get after him a little … maybe…depending on what is going on, but not in the same way that his parents will. However, I can promise this one thing…I will be a godly example and influence in Brandon’s life, because that is my main goal as a grandma. It has been my main goal as a momma. As a Christian, being a godly example should be my main focus in every aspect of my life. If I’m being honest, and those of you who read my blog regularly, know that I am brutally honest about myself on here, I’ll most certainly be a much more godly example and influence on my grandchildren than I have been on my children. We never stop growing in our faith…or we shouldn’t anyway, and I have grown a lot in my faith just in the last few years as my kids have gotten older. My kids were here for the good, the bad and the ugly parts of me at times, and for that I’m truly sorry. I pray that my kids learn from my mistakes. Every generation should learn from the previous one’s mistakes, and do better. I’m hoping that every generation in our family becomes stronger in their faith in God than the one before it. After all, the future of the Lord’s church is in their hands when we are gone. If God’s will allows it, I hope to see my grandson Brandon, and my future grandchildren grow up to be faithful Christians, and have families of their own someday. Maybe I’ll even get to meet some great-grandchildren if it is in God’s will.

As far as Brandon goes, I can help him learn to be kind, compassionate, respectful, and well-behaved when he is with me, just like I know his parents will want him to be. And that in itself, will help in the raising of him to be a fine, Christian man someday. I’ll do my part when I have him. It takes a village to raise a child. Every person in a child’s life has a part in influencing him/her whether the influence is good or bad. I want to help my daughter and son-in-law in whatever way that I can whenever they need me, without overstepping my boundaries, of course. The one thing that I am so thankful for is that Brandon has two parents who are faithful Christians, and who have his eternal destination as their top priority. They see the big picture of his life, and for that I am truly grateful. I’ve learned that as parents and grandparents, we have to look at our babies through Jesus’ eyes. Jesus sees an even bigger picture in our children than we do. What is He looking for in them as they grow into adulthood? I think about what Jesus said in Mark 10:14-16, Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it. ”And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them. We can learn a lot from what Jesus says about children in these verses. We are to become like children in our relationship with God, and fully rely on Him in much the same way that Brandon fully relies on his parents as a newborn. Becoming child-like is harder than we realize. As we grow older, we often try to rely on our own strength. Let’s never forget that God is behind everything that we are able to accomplish, and He is the reason that we are who we are. God has entrusted us with the special gift of children and grandchildren. I am reminded of Deuteronomy 6:4-9, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” God has not changed his mind on how we should raise our children. He expects the same thing from us today as he did back in Deuteronomy. I absolutely believe that God has given us our children and grandchildren to bring us joy. There is no doubt in my mind about that. But….He has also given them to us to bear fruit for Him, to raise them to honor Him with their lives, and to teach them the truth of the gospel, so that they can have the best and healthiest lifestyle while they are here, and make it to heaven someday. This is our greatest mission in life……helping our families make it to heaven.

Can you think of a grandmother who is mentioned by name in the Bible who had a powerful influence on her grandson? As I think about a godly grandmother, I think of Timothy’s grandmother Lois. When Paul wrote his second epistle to Timothy, he called Timothy his “beloved son”. Paul was not married and had no children so this meant that Timothy was like a son to him. In 1 Timothy 1:2, Paul refers to Timothy as “a true son in the faith”. Paul was a mentor and a father figure to Timothy in the faith. In Acts 16:1, we find out that Timothy was the son of a Jewish woman who believed, but his father was Greek. Timothy was not circumcised according to Jewish law, probably because his father, being a Greek, would not allow it. Paul wanted Timothy to go with him on his missionary journeys. He was circumcised before he began his journeys with Paul, “because of the Jews who were in that region, for they all knew that his father was Greek.” (Acts 16:3) Paul was afraid that the Jews would not take Timothy seriously if he was not circumcised according to Jewish law, especially with his father being Greek. It also says that Timothy was “well spoken of by the brethren who were at Lystra and Iconium.” (Acts 16:2) This says so much about the kind of young man that Timothy was, because people could be prejudiced against mixed race marriages, especially between Jews and Greeks. The fact that he was well spoken of was a big deal. And obviously his father was not a believer in Christ, because verse one says that his mother was a Jew and a believer and his father was a Greek, with no mention of him being a believer. Just listen to Paul’s words to Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:3-5, “I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day, greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy, when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also.” What a tribute by the apostle Paul to, not only a mother, but a grandmother! These two women together, raised this young man, Timothy, to be a fine Christian and missionary without the help of a godly father figure. God wanted Lois to be immortalized as a grandmother who made an impact on her grandson’s life. And in turn, her grandson had an amazing impact on the history of the Lord’s church. Isn’t it amazing? Through this one verse, 2 Timothy 1:5, God showed all women, past and present, that they can be the main spiritual influence in the family if they need to be. Ladies, sometimes we have to be the spiritual leader of our homes if our husbands are not Christians or aren’t strong Christians yet. Sometimes our husbands, even if they are Christians, need our quiet godly example. They need the encouragement from us to be the spiritual leader that they need to be for the family. Sisters, sometimes we have to step up the way that Lois and Eunice stepped up. We are not told whether Timothy’s father ever became a Christian or not. But it was obvious that Timothy was a grown man when Paul, through inspiration of God, wrote about his grandmother Lois and mother Eunice. God wanted these women to be honored for how they raised this amazing young man named Timothy.

Thank you so much for allowing me to bask in the honor of becoming a grandma. I have spoken often in different posts about what wonderful parents that I have been so blessed with. Becoming a grandma made me want to reminisce and focus on memories of my wonderful grandmothers. It was an honor and a privilege to be able to immortalize both of them in this post. I’m so excited about the future. I’m excited about watching little Brandon grow up! Lord willing, I’ll get to see him do all the things that he grows up to enjoy doing whether it is sports or something else that he is interested in. Whatever it is, his Grandma Greta will be there cheering him on at every opportunity. But the most exciting thing for me will be seeing him grow spiritually into a fine, Christian young man. That will be the highlight for me! And that goes for all my future grandchildren as well. Love you all so much!! Have a wonderful Christmas holiday!

Are you in Christ? Are you a branch connected to the true vine, which is Jesus Christ? (John 15:1-8) Below I have added God’s plan of salvation with scripture references. If you need help understanding how to be saved, please reach out. I can help you or put you in contact with someone who can help you.

God’s Plan of Salvation

Below is the plan that God has set forth in His word, for mankind to receive His grace that leads to salvation and an eternity with God in heaven.

We have to hear His word. (Romans 10:17)

Upon hearing the message of Jesus, we believe it. (Mark 16:16)

Then, we confess Jesus’ name before men. (Matthew 10:32)

Next, we repent of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19)

Finally, we are baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 22:16, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-27) After baptism, God adds us to His church. (Acts 2:47)

Then, we remain faithful in our commitment to Christ until death. (Revelation 2:10, 2 Peter 2:20-22)
Becoming a Grandma

December 12th, 2023

Becoming a Grandma

December 8, 2023….a day that I’ll never forget for as long as I live. It was the day that I experienced God’s circle of life in a new role. At 8:53 pm, Brandon Scott Reno was born. And in that moment I became, not just a momma anymore, but a grandmomma, or as “Little B”, aka Brandon, will call me ….”Grandma”. God is so very good and I am so thankful for all His amazing gifts. Every child is a gift from God. Rhiannon Brooke, our special gift from God, our baby girl, grew up and married Jayden Scott Reno, another special gift from God, and they brought our family another special gift from God in little Brandon. It is hard to fathom. I blinked and here we are. When I went into that hospital room and looked at the sweet face of my grandson for the first time, life literally passed before my eyes at that moment. Rhiannon went from being placed on my chest at 2:30 am on March 24, 1999 to having her son placed on her chest at 8:53 pm on December 8, 2023. Where did 24 years go? Like I said….I blinked.

In Proverbs 17:6 (NLT), the Bible says, “Grandchildren are the crowning glory of the aged; parents are the pride of their children.” I’ve been trying to put together in my mind the events of Friday, December 8, 2023 and this verse. When I think of the word “crown”, I automatically think of the “crown of life” that Jesus spoke of in Revelation 2:10. The “crown of life” is the reward from God for living our lives in faithful service to God. I can’t help but think of a grandchild as a reward in a way. As Christian parents, we try so very hard to raise our children to, first and foremost, be faithful Christians who put God and His church first, but also to be self-reliant and independent in their everyday lives. We try to instill in them that fulfilling God’s purpose for their lives and making it to heaven is really all that matters at the end of this life, while still teaching them to work hard for what they want out of life. It is a balancing act sometimes to put God first and also strive for success in life. And don’t let the world fool you, it can be done. God doesn’t expect anything from us that we can’t do. Plus….the Christian life is the very best life. It is definitely in our best interest and our children’s best interest to have God at the top of our priority list. In reality, having God as number one, and everyone and everything else next in line behind Him, causes everything to fall into place perfectly. If you have God first, then you will be a great spouse, a great parent, a great son or daughter, a great friend, a great employee, etc. It is when we don’t have God first that other areas of our lives start to slip. All this is what we try to teach our children. But…the thing is….we aren’t perfect parents, any of us, and we don’t always keep things in order the way we should. The key is that our kids see us making the effort every day. We make EVERY effort. I know my kids have seen me fail miserably at times. You see……they see us fail and fix it, and then fail and fix it again….over and over. They learn from our successes and our failures as parents. And hopefully someday, when we become grandparents, and they become parents, we can see them trying to teach the same things to their children that we taught to them. That is the crowning glory that the Bible is speaking of. It is the fruition of all the work that we put into raising our own children. The “crowning glory” is seeing our kids teach their own kids to put God first. We bear fruit for God in our children and grandchildren if we raise them to be faithful Christians.

The second part of Proverbs 17:6 says, “parents are the pride of their children”. I think about my own parents and how hard they worked to raise me to be both a faithful Christian and a hard-working productive member of society. I didn’t make it easy on them sometimes, that’s for sure! Did I raise my children exactly the same way that I was raised? No, I put my own spin on it as we all do. However, I did try my best to raise them to be faithful Christians, in just the same way that I was raised. Their example molded me and I’m so thankful for it. I have the best parents anyone could ever ask for. They are selfless. I didn’t really realize the love that my parents had for me until I had my own children. And now that I’m a grandma, I realize the love that my parents have for my children. Wow. Bless their hearts. I’m so proud that they are my parents and my children’s grandparents. And what was it like to see them hold their new great-grandson, you ask? That…my friends….was priceless. And there is the “pride” that Proverbs 17:6 is referring to.

The love that I have for my kids is immeasurable. I didn’t think I could love anyone in the same way that I love my kids, that is…..until Brandon was born this past Friday night. And I certainly love him immeasurably. And it will be the same for all my future grandchildren. I have room in my heart for as many as God’s will allows. My cup runneth over. I am so blessed.

I leave you with the second verse of the hymn, “Because He Lives”. This verse brings so many emotions back for me. I remember my dad leading this song at church after both my babies were born. Not sure if he did that on purpose or if it just happened by coincidence, but it made an impact on me.

How sweet to hold a newborn baby,

And feel the pride and joy he/she brings;

But greater still the calm assurance:

This child can face uncertain days because He Lives!

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,

Because He lives, all fear is gone;

Because I know He holds the future,

And life is worth the living,

Just because He lives!

I know that I was in the middle of a series on “Abiding in Christ”. I will pick back up on that in a couple of weeks. I’m going to continue to write about being a grandparent for a bit. It has been life changing for me. Next week, I will write about the influence of my grandma and my grandmother in my life and write about the role of Timothy’s grandmother, Lois, in his life.

Are you in Christ? Are you a branch connected to the true vine, which is Jesus Christ? (John 15:1-8) Below I have added God’s plan of salvation with scripture references. If you need help understanding how to be saved, please reach out. I can help you or put you in contact with someone who can help you.

God’s Plan of Salvation

Below is the plan that God has set forth in His word, for mankind to receive His grace that leads to salvation and an eternity with God in heaven.

We have to hear His word. (Romans 10:17)

Upon hearing the message of Jesus, we believe it. (Mark 16:16)

Then, we confess Jesus’ name before men. (Matthew 10:32)

Next, we repent of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19)

Finally, we are baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 22:16, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-27) After baptism, God adds us to His church. (Acts 2:47)

Then, we remain faithful in our commitment to Christ until death. (Revelation 2:10, 2 Peter 2:20-22)
Abiding in Christ Part 1

December 3rd, 2023

Abiding in Christ

Part 1 Pruning and Producing

In John 15:4, Jesus says, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.”

What does it mean to abide in or abide by something? The word abide means to comply with, follow, hold to, conform to, or stand by. One example that comes to my mind are the laws. We all strive to be law-abiding citizens. This is a part of being a good citizen of our country, state, and town. What happens if we don’t abide by the laws of the land? We get into big trouble, right? Another example that comes to mind is a dress code. I am a teacher and I have to “abide by” a dress code that is set forth by the county school board. There is also a code of ethics that I must follow or abide by as a professional educator. I am also told that I have to turn in my lesson plans on Monday of each week. What happens if I don’t abide by the rules and policies of my employer? Well….that means that I am being insubordinate and could be put on probation or even fired if I don’t change my behavior. We are all conscientious about obeying our countries’ laws. We are all very careful to abide by the rules and policies of our workplaces. It is called insubordination when we don’t abide by our boss’s rules. But think about this for a moment. What if we were as concerned about abiding in Christ as we are about abiding by the laws of the land, or the rules and policies of our employers? What does it mean to abide in Christ? How do I know if I am truly abiding in Christ? Abiding in Jesus is so much more than just saying we believe in Him. It is so much more than showing up for church on Sundays. I can show up, but not be engaged or connected at all. I can show up to my job at Bobby Ray Elementary, but if I am not engaged in my purpose, and intentional in my actions as a teacher, then I will not be effective. If I don’t establish a relationship or connection with each of my students and foster that connection, then they will not make progress. It is the same for us in our Christian walk. If we don’t establish and maintain a connection with Jesus, then we won’t be successful as a Christian. Let’s begin by looking at one of the greatest analogies from Jesus on what it means to abide in Him.

In John 15:1, Jesus says, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser”. The dictionary definition of “vinedresser” is “a person who prunes, trains, and cultivates vines. To prune means “to cut off or cut back parts of for better shape or more fruitful growth” or to “cut off what is unwanted or superfluous”. (Merriam-Webster) To “train” a vine, the vinedresser will put a structure or trellis in place amongst the branches of the vine to cause the vine to grow in the direction that will promote the most growth. To cultivate means “to till and prepare (land or soil) for the growth of crops” or “to plant, tend, harvest, or improve (plants) by labor and skill”. (Dictionary.com) Can you see how God does all these things in our lives as Christians?

In John 15:2, Jesus says, “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” So…if I am bearing fruit for God in my life, then God will prune me so that I can bear more fruit. God wants to get the very most that He possibly can out of all of us for His purpose while we are here on earth. If something is keeping us from being the best we can be for Him, then He is going to try to prune us. But the truth is, we are never the best we can be, are we? We can always do more, so…..God will prune us for as long as we are alive and living our lives for His purpose. But….what if I don’t accept and recognize when God is trying to prune me? If I don’t allow God to prune me, then I will eventually become unfruitful. What happens when I become unfruitful? John 15:2 says that every branch in Jesus (the true vine) that does not bear fruit will be taken away by God (the vinedresser). Is this as scary sounding to you as it is to me? I’m picturing a dead branch on the vine. Here comes the vinedresser. He cuts it off, throws it in a pile with other dead branches to make a big brush pile. Then we know what happens next!! The pile of useless dead branches is burned!! You see…..the dead branches can hinder the healthy branches from growing and producing fruit. In John 15:6, Jesus says, “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.” I don’t know about any of you all, but I do not want to be a part of that brush pile!

How does God prune us? Well…..maybe I have someone or something in my life that is hindering me from reaching my potential as a fruit-bearer for God. It could be a bad habit or even an addiction. It could be that this habit has taken me completely away from God. I may have allowed myself to become a dead branch. Maybe it is a hobby that I am putting ahead of God. Maybe it is a person who is a negative influence on me. Notice that the definition says “to cut off or cut back”. For example, if I am involved in an activity or habit that is detrimental to my spiritual or physical health, then I need to prune or “cut off” that activity or habit. If it is an addiction to a substance, then we may need professional help to kick whatever the habit is. When our bad behavior convicts us, then guess what? That is God trying to prune us. Will we let him? There may be people that we need to completely cut out of our lives. I know that sounds extreme, but nothing is more important than our souls, and where we spend eternity. If I can’t be around a person without saying and doing things that are uncharacteristic of a Christian, then I need to allow God to prune that person from my life. Do you know that feeling that you have inside when you know that a person is just not good for you? You have fun with them, but it is not the kind of fun that Christians should be having and you know it….deep inside. That conviction that you feel is God trying to prune that person from your life. Will you let Him? I’ve had this happen multiple times. And I eventually realized that I had to make the effort to distance myself from the person. God wasn’t going to do it for me. It was my choice. But….when I started making the effort to distance myself, it seemed like something would always happen that took that person out of my path. I didn’t realize it at the time, but looking back now, I see it. God helped me prune people from my life, but only after I was willing to let them go. Pruning is not easy, but it is necessary to grow as a Christian. This lesson has made me realize that God has probably pruned me out of others’ lives when I was the dead branch that needed cutting off in the past.

God can also prune us by getting us to realize that we aren’t giving Him enough of our time. Let’s face it, friends. We can never give God enough, but we have to have Him as number one on our list of priorities or we are spinning our wheels as Christians. We are going nowhere if He isn’t first. In Matthew 6:33, Jesus says, “ But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Putting God first means putting His church (kingdom) first. Colossians 3:1-2 says this, “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” Is it possible that we just need to cut back on or prune away some things that are hindering us from being who God wants and NEEDS for us to be? Friends, let’s remember this….it is not just about who God wants us to be. It is about who God NEEDS us to be. We are His vessels that are to carry His message to the lost. It is us, my Christian friends. It is our responsibility. Whether we want to accept the responsibility or not, God has given it to us. He needs us to be committed to His purpose for our lives. I mean, after all, He is why we are even here at all. So I ask myself and I’m asking you to ask yourself, are there things that I need to prune away or “cut back” on in my life. I know that I used to spend a lot of my time watching TV or movies, and reading secular novels. I’ve cut back, but honestly, I need to cut back some more. For some, it may be scrolling through social media, or playing games on your phone that takes up a lot of your time. It may be something else entirely. Am I saying that all these things are wrong in and of themselves? NO! I still enjoy a good movie, show, or book. That hasn’t changed. And that is totally fine. But the intensity of my affection towards those things has changed. Why? Because I now realize that I love God’s word so much more than those things! I didn’t realize how awesome His Word is until I truly put my heart into Bible study. Psalm 119:97 and Psalm 119:105 truly sum up how I feel about God’s Word, “Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.” and “Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.” Now I can tell you this….I don’t feel that way about any movie, TV show, sport, book, etc. Nothing else will fill the void that needs filling in our lives. And even still, I don’t feel like I spend enough time in it most days. So….if we spend all our time with our worldly activities, and we don’t set aside time for personal Bible study and prayer, then we won’t be as fruitful as we could be. This has been me for so much of my life. It has been easy for me to let personal Bible study and prayer slide when I wasn’t being intentional about it. It may be that we let worldly activities get in the way of Bible study and worship services sometimes. I know that I can raise my hand on this one, because I’m ashamed to say that I’ve done this. I’m sure we all have. But…I had an example set before me that I will never forget. I remember when I was growing up, I never asked my parents, “Are we going to church tonight?” on Sunday or Wednesday nights. Because I knew it wasn’t even a question whether we were going or not. We were going, and I knew that! If the church doors were open, we were going, unless something out of our control had come about to keep us from it. I am so very thankful for my parents, and what they instilled in me in my youth. Jeff and I tried hard to instill that in our kids, but I know we could have done better. We can always do better. We all sin and fall short of the glory of God in some way every single day. (Romans 3:23) I am so thankful that Jesus did what He did 2000+ years ago so that I can be forgiven for my shortcomings. I ask myself, am I abiding in Christ? Am I allowing God to prune me so that I can bear the most fruit that I can?

So….to end part one of this post, let’s make some comparisons and review. God is our vinedresser. He prunes, trains and cultivates us if we are willing to let Him. A vinedresser cuts back the branches to promote the bearing of more fruit on the branch or vine. He completely cuts off the dead branches so that they don’t get in the way of the vine’s overall growth. In the same way, God, through His Word, convicts our hearts, and we act on that conviction to prune or get rid of the people or things in our lives that are keeping us from being the best fruit-bearers we can be for Him. A vinedresser sometimes uses a trellis to train the vine so that it will grow in the direction that will promote health and growth to the vine. In the same way, God trains us through the Bible (our trellis) to grow in the direction that will lead to bearing fruit for Him, and eventually lead to an eternity in heaven with Him. A vinedresser cultivates (prepares) the soil to promote health and strength for the entire vine or plant. He wants to promote a strong root system so that the plant can withstand harsh weather such as strong wind and rain. In the same way, God cultivates (prepares) our hearts through His word so that we can face the storms that life with strength and grace. If a branch is going to stay attached to the vine, it has to bear fruit. In order for us to abide in Christ, we must bear fruit. In order to bear fruit, we have to allow God to prune us. If we do not allow ourselves to be pruned so that we can bear more fruit, then we will become a dead branch on the true vine (Jesus) and the vinedresser (God) will cut us off. Isaiah 59:2 says this, “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.” This verse says that sin (iniquity) separates us from God. We learn in John 15:2 and 15:6 that if we are unfruitful, then we are cut-off or separated from God. So….being unfruitful is a sin that will separate me from God. I don’t ever want to be a dead branch again. I certainly don’t want to be a dead branch when I stand before God on judgment day. I can never do enough to repay Jesus for what He has done for me. He doesn’t expect repayment. He only wants my heart. He wants every person’s heart. If we truly give Him our hearts, we will bear fruit as we abide in Him. It will become more and more natural to us as we step out of our comfort zones and do more. So…..prune, bear fruit, and abide, my sisters in Christ! We can all make a difference!

We will talk more about how we can bear fruit for God in the next post. In John 15:1, Jesus says that He is the “true vine”. What does that mean? I will explore that next week as well. I hope you all have a wonderful week.

Are you in Christ? Are you a branch connected to the true vine, which is Jesus Christ? (John 15:1-8) Below I have added God’s plan of salvation with scripture references. If you need help understanding how to be saved, please reach out. I can help you or put you in contact with someone who can help you.

God’s Plan of Salvation

Below is the plan that God has set forth in His word, for mankind to receive His grace that leads to salvation and an eternity with God in heaven.

We have to hear His word. (Romans 10:17)

Upon hearing the message of Jesus, we believe it. (Mark 16:16)

Then, we confess Jesus’ name before men. (Matthew 10:32)

Next, we repent of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19)

Finally, we are baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 22:16, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-27) After baptism, God adds us to His church. (Acts 2:47)

Then, we remain faithful in our commitment to Christ until death. (Revelation 2:10, 2 Peter 2:20-22)
How Am I Stronger in Weakness? Part 2

November 25th, 2023

How Am I Stronger in Weakness?

Part 2

Key Verse 2 Corinthians 12:10

“Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

In my last post, I began to try to understand why Paul made the statement that he made in the verse above. Why does he take pleasure in all those things that cause him to suffer? He actually answers that question in the verse. He takes pleasure in his suffering “for Christ’s sake”. So… because he is suffering for the cause of spreading the gospel of Christ, he takes pleasure in his suffering. Wow. When I really think about that statement by Paul, it nearly brings me to my knees. I wish that I could be more like Paul and find joy in bad situations. I’m trying, but I am a work in progress in this area as well as lots of other areas in my life. You know, Paul was inspired by the Holy Spirit directly to preach and write exactly what God wanted him to preach and write about. But aren’t we inspired by the Holy Spirit today? Well, that is, we are inspired if we allow ourselves to be. We are not directly inspired in the same way that Paul was inspired, but we have the Holy Spirit. God’s word is the Holy Spirit, therefore we have the same inspiration and comfort that Paul had. But are we letting the Holy Spirit inspire and comfort us? I realized way too late in life that I wasn’t letting God speak to me through His Word (the Holy Spirit) enough. I was praying for God to help me, but how can He help me if I don’t listen to Him. I was also going to Bible study and worship services regularly, but that wasn’t enough. I needed my spiritual food every day. I needed personal Bible study….a special time set aside for myself and my God. How does this relate to suffering, you ask? Well … .let’s just think about this logically. Let’s just say that I am suffering in some way, and I beg God to take my suffering away. But my suffering continues. Maybe it even gets worse. If I am in God’s word and letting His word soothe me and comfort me, then I will grow closer to God through that suffering. Turning to God cannot be one-sided. It includes not only praying to God, but listening to Him as well. However, if I don’t get in God’s word during times of suffering, then I have nothing to comfort me. This opens the door for Satan and discouragement. I may be praying to God for help and relief, but how can He help me deal with my suffering and my problems if I’m not listening to Him. Have you ever heard of a one-sided conversation? This is what we have when we pray to God, but we don’t open our Bibles and listen to Him. So if you are suffering in some way, open God’s word. Look up scriptures to encourage you. Pray through those scriptures. I’ve said this before but I’ll say it again….put your name in the scriptures that you are praying through, and make them personal to you, because, my friends…..it is personal. God wants to get personal with us, but He can’t if He isn’t given the opportunity. So talk to God every day, and read, study, or listen to His word at some point every day. Set aside that special time for just you and Him. That is what God wants from all of us.

Believe it or not, our suffering has a purpose. It has a purpose for God and for Satan. Satan tries to use our suffering against us, to torment us and possibly cause us to blame and abandon God. Let’s think about Job for a moment. Satan tried every way in the world to get Job to turn away from God, but Job never did. Satan even used Job’s own wife against him when she said, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!”.(Job 2:9) But let’s never forget that Job’s wife was also suffering beyond our imagination. Job’s wife deserves a post of her own, because she has gotten a bad rep, in my opinion. I haven’t been through anything compared to what Job went through, or what his wife went through along with him, but I have been through my own troubles as we all have. Job’s story, just like everything in the Bible, is there for us to learn from. That was the purpose for Job’s suffering. His situation shows us that no matter what happens to us, we can overcome it. Do you think Job grew closer to God through His suffering? Read the book of Job and you will see that Job and God had a very close relationship while Job was going through all this terrible stuff. And the relationship was brutally honest. Job told God exactly how he was feeling, but…..he never turned away from God. Listen to Job’s words in Job 7:11, Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.” Job was not going to hold back. He didn’t understand why all these things had happened to him. We don’t have to hold back either. We are allowed to tell God how we are feeling. We can be honest with God about our feelings. It doesn’t mean that we are turning against Him. It will actually draw us closer to Him. He wants us to come to Him. And that, oftentimes, is how God uses our suffering…..to be closer to us. I had a very dear friend who has since passed away from cancer say something very profound to me once. She told me this….. “Maybe it took me getting sick to bring me to God the way I’m supposed to be”. I will never forget that statement by my sister in Christ and dear friend. Wow. What bravery. What strength. Now are we seeing the meaning of the “when I am weak, then I am strong” statement by Paul?

So……let’s go back to Paul’s suffering. Paul suffered from a “thorn in the flesh”. Let’s look at the verses leading up to our key verse, “And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (2 Corinthians 12:7-9) This “thorn” that Paul had was a physical disease or sickness. Paul calls this “thorn” a “messenger of Satan” to “buffet” or harass or torment him. You see ….that is what Satan’s purpose for our suffering is….a way to torment and even torture us into destroying ourselves by becoming bitter, blaming God, and eventually turn away from God. Whatever the infirmity was though, it was bad enough that Paul prayed three times for God to remove it, but God did not remove it. It is possible that the “thorn” was an eye disease from all that I have read. I can’t say this for sure, but it is a possibility. In Galatians 4:13 Paul says this, “You know that because of physical infirmity I preached the gospel to you at the first. And my trial which was in my flesh you did not despise or reject, but you received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus. What then was the blessing you enjoyed? For I bear you witness that, if possible, you would have plucked out your own eyes and given them to me.” The whole “pluck out their eyes to give them to Paul” statement implies that he had eye problems when he preached to the Galatian Christians the first time. And, according to other scriptures, Paul had more than one infirmity. 1 Timothy 5:23 says this, “No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for your stomach’s sake, and your frequent infirmities.” The wine, of course, was to be used as a medicine for physical infirmities, not for pleasure. I can say one thing for sure. Paul’s infirmity was not any kind of sin that tempted Paul. I’ve read some articles from some outside the church that try to claim that Paul’s “thorn” was some form of sin that he struggled with. The context of the verse does not support this and neither do other references to Paul’s infirmities. I believe some want to try to make this claim in order to justify sin. They want to say that God accepts sin by implying that God accepted Paul with his “thorn” or sin, especially since He didn’t take the “thorn” away after Paul prayed three times for it to be removed. This theory is simply not supported in any way. I’m just letting you all know the kind of false teaching that is out there about the apostle Paul. Can a temptation or sin be our “thorn in the flesh”? Absolutely. But we can’t keep living in that sin. We have to resist the temptation to commit that sin. Romans 6:12-13 tells us not to let sin reign in our mortal bodies and not to present our bodies as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but to present our bodies as instruments of righteousness to God. Paul himself said these words to the Christians in Rome.

So what was God’s purpose for allowing Paul to keep his “thorn in the flesh”? To understand God’s reason, we have to go back to part one of this post where we discussed Paul’s trip to the third heaven. During this trip, God revealed “inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter” to Paul. (2 Corinthians 12:4) Paul was allowed to keep this “thorn in the flesh” so that he would not grow conceited because of the revelations that he had been given during that trip to Paradise. Wasn’t Paul the picture of humility in his walk with Christ? Well…..this was God’s purpose. God wanted Paul to remain humble. And Paul was thankful that God allowed him to keep the infirmities. Paul knew that God knew what was best for him spiritually and that was all that mattered to Paul. The infirmities made Paul a stronger vessel for Christ. What about us? Don’t we all have a “thorn in the flesh”? We all have infirmities/weaknesses/sicknesses of one kind or another, whether it be physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual. The worst kind of sickness is spiritual sickness, because that type of sickness deals with our eternal soul. The other three forms of infirmities are only temporary. Let’s remember God’s servant, Job and the apostle Paul when we go through problems in our lives. If we are right spiritually, then we can handle whatever this life throws at us. It may be the most excruciating pain we could ever imagine, but with God by our sides, we will make it through.

On a personal note, I went through a period of time where I was suffering mentally and emotionally in a bad way. Depression and anxiety were overtaking me. I won’t go into details, but it was worse than any physical suffering that I had ever experienced. It was hard for me to get out of bed in the morning. I had to make myself eat. It was hard for me to put one foot in front of the other one. Everything that I had to do was so hard. The simplest things were difficult. My responsibilities as a wife, a mom, a daughter, and a teacher did not stop. I had to just keep going. The only way that I was able to get through it was through God’s word and prayer. I found verses that helped me get through it. I journaled through Bible verses and wrote out my prayers. Even going to the grocery store was hard. I had Bible verses bookmarked on my phone so that I could stop and pull them up on my phone while in the grocery store. I had to pray through verses to go get groceries, friends! It was a rough time. And I know that there are many of you that have been through something similar. Many of you have been through much worse, and you may still be going through some really hard times. I’m just sharing mine with you so that you know that you are not alone. During this time in my life, I had a wonderful support system. My sweet husband and children were wonderful. I had some close friends who were always there for me. All of these people helped me along the way, but it was God who truly got me through it. I had to truly lay it all at His feet. The two-way conversation of praying to Him and listening to Him through His Word is what saved me. I am thankful for that time though! That time in my life taught me how to truly lean on God. It brought me close to Him in a way that I had never been before. Like Jesus said to Paul 2 Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is sufficient for you for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” His grace is sufficient for me and for you. His strength is made perfect by our weakness.

What about the suffering of Jesus on the cross? Was it from Satan or God? Well it was Satan who caused wicked men to put Christ to death. It was Satan who tried to destroy Christ. It is Satan who continues to try to destroy us. But…..it has always been God who prevailed from the beginning. It was God’s plan from the beginning all along to send Christ to be our Savior. It was God’s plan from before time began to use the horrible death of His Son for something good. In Romans 8:28, the apostle Paul, says these words, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” All things, including suffering, work together for good, my sisters in Christ. Why? Because we love God and we are “the called” according to His purpose. I hope this post encourages you to never, ever give up. Keep fighting the good fight, stay on the right course, and finish the race. (1 Timothy 4:7) I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and week ahead! Love you all!!

Are you in Christ? Below I have added God’s plan of salvation with scripture references. If you need help in understanding, please reach out.

God’s Plan of Salvation

If anyone ever needs help in learning the truth of the gospel, please reach out and I can help you or put you in contact with someone who can. Below is the plan that God has set forth in His word, for mankind to receive His grace that leads to salvation and an eternity with God in heaven.

We have to hear His word. (Romans 10:17)

Upon hearing the message of Jesus, we believe it. (Mark 16:16)

Then, we confess Jesus’ name before men. (Matthew 10:32)

Next, we repent of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19)

Finally, we are baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 22:16, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-27) After baptism, God adds us to His church. (Acts 2:47)

Then, we remain faithful in our commitment to Christ until death. (Revelation 2:10, 2 Peter 2:20-22)
How Are We Stronger in Weakness?

November 18th, 2023

How are we Stronger in Weakness?

Part 1

“Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:10

Why do terrible things happen to good people? I’ve heard both Christians and non-Christians ask this question. This is also why so many people leave the faith or in some instances, they choose to stop believing in God altogether. They blame God for the awful thing that happened to them or their loved one. They say things like, “If God loved me, He wouldn’t allow me to suffer like this.” or “what kind of a God would allow the suffering of good people, even little children?”. Another statement that I’ve heard before is, “well if there is a God, why wouldn’t he stop all of this bad stuff from happening?”. And I’ll admit, it is really hard to understand the relationship between God and our suffering. This is why I chose 2 Corinthians 12:10 as a springboard for this post. I believe Paul does the best possible job that anyone could do of explaining why we suffer in 2 Corinthians 12. But I ask you to give this some thought as we go forward, when are we closest to God? When are we the most vulnerable? Are we more likely to turn to God when we are on top of the world or when we are at our lowest point? I heard someone say one time, in regards to Jesus dying on the cross, “What kind of a father would allow his son to go through that? Why did that have to happen for us to be forgiven of our sins? Why can’t God just forgive us if He really loves us?” They just don’t understand why it had to happen. But the main point that these folks are just not acknowledging is this……we don’t have to understand why God chose the plan that He chose for mankind. God doesn’t owe us an explanation as to why He unfolded His plan the way that He has. He’s God. He has every right to decide how He wants things to be. He knows what we need more than we know what we need. And…..what we all have to understand is that God is the creator and we are His creation. His ways and thoughts are far above our ways and thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9) Let’s think of it in simple terms. If I write a script to make a movie, then I am the creator of that script and movie. I have planned out how the movie is sequenced. I have chosen the characters. I have decided how the movie will end. Ok, let’s just say that an editor or producer comes along and changes everything that I worked so hard to create about my movie. That same editor or producer decides that they want to change the ending. Before long, the movie no longer even looks like the script that I wrote. Don’t you think that God feels this way when He looks down from above? He sees people trying to change His script every minute of every day! How dare anyone change God’s script! It was meant to be read and interpreted one way. It is truth. And since it is truth, then it can’t be changed or interpreted to suit everyone’s desires. We are all a part of God’s script as we spend our short time here on earth. Will we follow His script, the Bible, as we go through our lives or will we change the script to suit ourselves? I ask you, what is the alternative other than following the God of the universe? There are really only two choices. There is no middle ground, friends. We either follow God, which means we follow His Word, or we follow the world, and we know who the world belongs to…. Satan. Why would we want to turn away from the one who could end it all at any moment? Let’s dive in and look at this idea of why we are allowed to suffer. Is Satan behind our suffering or is God? Why does Paul say that he takes pleasure in suffering? And how in the world is he stronger in weakness?

So….why was Paul speaking this way about his suffering? What led up to this discussion? Let’s back up to the beginning of 2 Corinthians 12 and see the context of this conversation. In the first six verses of this chapter, Paul is telling the Christians at Corinth about a man being caught up into the third heaven. This third heaven that Paul is speaking of, according to everything I have read, is paradise, which is where God dwells. It turns out that the man who was caught up into the third heaven is Paul himself. Listen to 2 Corinthians 12:5, “Of such a one I will boast; yet of myself I will not boast, except in my infirmities.” Paul is saying that if it were anyone else besides himself who had this experience, then He would have boasted about that person’s revelation. However, because it was him who had this experience, he would not boast about it. He doesn’t want to exalt himself in any way. He says that if he is going to boast about anything, it would be about his infirmities. I know some may think, “well, he is boasting about the experience now”, but he is absolutely not boasting. 2 Corinthians 12:2 says that this experience of being shown the third heaven happened fourteen years ago. Don’t you think that he would have told someone before now if he had wanted to brag about the experience? And on a side note, let’s think about the self-control that it took for Paul to keep an experience like that to himself for 14 years! He patiently waited until just the right moment in time to disclose that experience to the Christians at Corinth. And even then, he only talked about it to make a point. If I ever had an experience like that. I can 100% tell you that I would have been itching to tell someone about it as quickly as I could! I think we can learn a lot about Paul’s character from how he handled that. Paul never wanted to appear arrogant or portray himself as anyone special just because he was an apostle. He simply wanted the message of Jesus to be spread for God’s glory, not his own. He didn’t want to do anything to take the attention away from Jesus and put it on him. And….he didn’t have to impress people with his experience of going to the third heaven to get their attention! He used the truth of Jesus Christ and salvation to get their attention. Listen to Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 2:1-5, “And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” I don’t need to explain these words. I can’t paraphrase them any better than the apostle Paul could speak them. The message of Jesus was all that Paul was concerned about, and he didn’t want credit for any of it. In 1 Corinthians 1:10-14, Paul came down hard on the Christians at Corinth for being divided over who to follow, and trying to follow the messenger instead of the message. Then later in 1 Corinthians 3:6-7 Paul says, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.” So let that be a lesson for all of us. It is not the preacher or teacher who gets the glory when a person is baptized. It is God. It is His message of mercy, compassion, hope, love, and salvation that gets the job done. Do we have some talented preachers and teachers? Yes we do! And I am so thankful for men who have the ability to stand before us in pulpits all across the world, and rightly divide the word of God so that we can all understand it more clearly. I am so thankful for my sisters who have the ability to teach ladies bible classes, teach teens and college-age ladies classes, teach babies and young children’s classes, speak at ladies days, do podcasts, write Bible study materials, and list goes on and on and on of things we can do for the Lord. Ladies….we can do so much within our role! But I am certain that any of these men and women will tell you that it is God’s word that is the difference maker in people’s lives, not them. They will tell you that they are only a vessel for the message of Jesus. God wants us to use our talents for His purpose, not for any personal glory. I write this blog because I love to write about God’s word, and I am hopeful that through God’s word my posts will encourage my sisters in Christ in their daily walks, or penetrate someone’s heart who is not a Christian. But that won’t be because of anything that I have done. Because it is God’s word that causes the words to come out of me and onto the paper. It’s His Word that makes me want to write. I have said this before, and I’ll say it again, if it wasn’t for God’s word, I would have nothing to write about.

Everything in 2 Corinthians 12 leading up to verse 10 is setting the stage for a discussion about suffering. However…..we need to back up to 2 Corinthians 11 to get the big picture of what brought on the discussion of the third heaven, boasting and suffering. In 2 Corinthians 11:5 Paul makes this statement, “For I consider that I am not at all inferior to the most eminent apostles.” This statement tells us that the Corinthians must have thought that Paul was less of an apostle than the others. He then goes into a pretty lengthy spill about all the suffering and misfortune he had endured since becoming a Christian. (2 Corinthians 11:24-29) So….was it Paul’s suffering that made the Christians at Corinth think that he was “inferior” to the other apostles? Yes! They were thinking, how could God let this terrible suffering happen to one of His apostles? He must be a weak apostle, right? This leads right into Paul’s statement in 2 Corinthians 12:10, “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” Paul says it’s not so bad to be weak! In weakness, Paul found strength. He was trying to get the Christians at Corinth to understand that it was in their weakest moments when they were actually at their best, because they were leaning fully on God in that moment. What about us? When are we truly at our best? What kind of strength do we desire?

I am nowhere near finished discussing this verse and the context around it. In part 2, we will dig deeper into the suffering and infirmity of Paul, our suffering today, and God’s part in all of it. We will also attempt to answer the question, does suffering come from God or Satan or both?

Are you in Christ? Below I have added God’s plan of salvation with scripture references. If you need help in understanding, please reach out.

God’s Plan of Salvation

If anyone ever needs help in learning the truth of the gospel, please reach out and I can help you or put you in contact with someone who can. Below is the plan that God has set forth in His word, for mankind to receive His grace that leads to salvation and an eternity with God in heaven.

We have to hear His word. (Romans 10:17)

Upon hearing the message of Jesus, we believe it. (Mark 16:16)

Then, we confess Jesus’ name before men. (Matthew 10:32)

Next, we repent of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19)

Finally, we are baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 22:16, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-27) After baptism, God adds us to His church. (Acts 2:47)

Then, we remain faithful in our commitment to Christ until death. (Revelation 2:10, 2 Peter 2:20-22)
Our “Walk” Part 2- Our Influence

November 11th, 2023

Our “Walk”

Part 2- Our Influence

How is our “walk” related to God’s ultimate purpose for our lives? What is our purpose? One of the definitions of walk is to “guide, accompany, or escort someone”. I think about how I used to hold Rhiannon’s or Jordan’s hand when they were first learning to walk. They were babies and they didn’t know how or where to walk. I had to make sure they stayed safe and away from danger as they were learning to walk. As they grew and learned, I had to physically hold their hands less and less, until one day, I didn’t have to physically hold their hands at all. But…..in a way, I still held their hand, not physically, but in spirit. Instead of guiding them physically, I tried my best to help guide them spiritually through my example and life experience. I certainly have never wanted them to make the same mistakes I have made. I did my best at the time. I’ll be honest, it wasn’t always great. I look back and see things I should have done or not done. But hindsight is always 20/20. I pray that they were guided or “walked” in the right way so that they know which path to take in life. I believe they both know that living the Christian life and staying on the narrow road that Jesus spoke of in Matthew 7:13-14 is the only path to true satisfaction in this life. It is, after all, the path to eternal life with God. Now they are grown and married with families of their own, however, I am still holding their hands symbolically in my heart. I can still help them and be an example to them in my Christian walk. I am still here for them on their Christian walk at any moment. So….each of us can make an impression on others with our “walk”, whether it be our family, friends, co-workers, or even people we come in contact with by chance, right? My reaction in every situation will show who I am, and who I belong to, right?

I would like to use Micah 6:8 as my springboard for this lesson. It reads:

“He has shown you, O man, what is good;

And what does the Lord require of you

But to do justly,

To love mercy,

And to walk humbly with your God?”

In these verses, God is speaking to His people through the prophet Micah. Through Micah, God is pleading with His people to choose to follow Him and walk in His ways. God is saying, “Haven’t I shown you what I expect of you? Please do it!” God pleaded with His people in the old testament over and over again, but they just kept turning away from Him to follow other gods. He didn’t want them to suffer, but in order to preserve the lineage of His Son, He had to allow them to suffer the consequences when they disobeyed Him. God promised us a Savior and He kept that promise through Jesus. Our Father pleads with us to follow Him today just like He did back then. Micah 6:8 is for us just as much as it was for them. God does not want us to suffer the consequences of what a life on the wide path of destruction will bring us. He wants us to walk down the narrow path that He has “marked out” for us. (Matthew 7:13-14) All He wants is for us to choose Him first and foremost in our lives. If we do this, it will be the best life we could ever live. And why shouldn’t we choose to put God first? Romans 12:1-2 tells us it is our “reasonable service” to walk through our lives as a “living sacrifice” to God. After all, look what He has done for us! We are only here because of Him. We can only have salvation if we walk according to His plan. I believe that Micah 6:8 beautifully explains how we should walk as Christians. I only recently discovered this verse, and I truly love it.

However, to fully understand Micah 6:8, we need to back up to Micah 6:6-7. It reads,

“With what shall I come before the Lord,

And bow myself before the High God?

Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings,

With calves a year old?

Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,

Ten thousand rivers of oil?

Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,

The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”

Micah is telling the Israelites that God isn’t concerned with how many burnt offerings they sacrifice. God doesn’t want them to sacrifice their firstborn for their transgressions. He isn’t worried about how much oil they bring to the altar. All those religious acts won’t matter one bit if their heart is not right with God. None of it matters if they are not treating others properly. They could bring “thousands of rams” as offerings, but it won’t matter if they are just going through the motions. This should tell us something about our Christian walk. It doesn’t matter how many acts of service we do. It doesn’t matter if we are at church every time the doors are open. It doesn’t matter how much money we give. If our motives within our heart are not right, then none of those things will matter. If all we are doing is trying to gain God’s approval or other people’s approval through acts of merit, then we have missed the mark. I am not saying that we shouldn’t do all the things listed above, because we absolutely should. However…..our motives have to be pure and according to God’s purpose in everything we do. Our God is not a God that has to be appeased. We don’t have to gain His approval. God is not asking us to do things that aren’t possible for us to do. God has simply asked us to obey His Word, and then mirror our lives as much like His Son as is within our power and abilities. Micah 6:8 says that God has shown mankind what is good. He then lists three ways that God required His people to “walk”. He told them “to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly” with their God. He also requires us to “walk” in these same ways today. These things are not impossible. Are they easy all the time? No! They are not easy, but they are certainly not impossible. It takes effort and focus on our part. At that time in history, God had shown the Israelites all these qualities by the way He cared for them. Today, we have Jesus’ example to look at as we walk. Jesus walked in all the ways that Micah 6:8 lists. Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 5:13-16. He calls us the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Let’s look at the salt comparison. Salt brings out the flavor in food. Jesus is the salt in us. He gives us our “flavor” as we walk. Without Him, we are bland, just like our food is bland without salt. If we are in Christ and being faithful to Him, we are salt. Now, let’s look at the light comparison. Jesus is the light of the world. (John 8:12) If we are in Christ, then we are the light of the world. Jesus is that light in us. Without Him, we are darkness. We “flavor” or “light up” the world with all the things listed in Micah 6:8: fairness, love, mercy, compassion, kindness, and humility. In our Christian “walk”, we are to let our light shine before men so that they may see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:16) So what does this mean for us as Christians today? It means that it is our responsibility to show others Jesus. Jesus commissioned us to go and make disciples in Matthew 28:18-20. Are we making that our purpose? My toes are seriously hurting right now! Am I purposely and intentionally guiding other people to Jesus? Is my “walk” truly a Christian “walk”? Because it isn’t just about me. It is about my influence on others.

What does it mean to “do justly” in my daily walk of life? It means I treat people fairly. I should not be a “respecter of persons”. God isn’t, so I shouldn’t be either. (Acts 10:34) I should love all my brothers and sisters in Christ in the same way. I may be closer to some people than others, but I have a love for them all, even those that I don’t know. I don’t treat one person better than another person for any reason. I don’t judge people according to how they look or dress or any other physical appearance. It is a long read, but James 2:1-13 basically explains that we shouldn’t show partiality to certain people for any reason, whether it be how they dress, how much money they make, or their status in life. This is how we “do justly”. I shouldn’t judge people by their past. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 has a long list of sinful practices that those Christians at Corinth had been involved in before they were baptized into Christ to become Christians. (Acts 18:8) But….1 Corinthians 6:11 says, “And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” Someone’s past “walk” doesn’t matter. It only matters how they “walk” in the future. As far as how I am to treat my non-Christian friends, this is critical to my Christian walk. I cannot come across as holier-than-thou. I will turn them off immediately with that attitude. I cannot call someone out or act offended over every little thing they say or do that I don’t agree with. I have to pick my battles. Trust me, if you are living righteously in front of them, they will quickly learn from how you speak, and how you act and react, what kinds of things you are uncomfortable with. The bottom line is that I should treat everyone with respect no matter what walk of life they come from. I don’t degrade someone who doesn’t believe the same way as me. I listen to what they say without interrupting. They may have not been taught the truth yet. I need to be looking for open doors to teach them. If they are willing to tell me what they believe, then that is an open door for me to tell them about Jesus and the gospel. While looking for those open doors, I simply just show them that I belong to Jesus through how I treat them, and when I get the opportunity to talk about the gospel with them, I simply use God’s word to back up everything I believe. “Doing justly” in our Christian walk is understanding that everyone in this world is equally deserving of being taught the gospel of salvation. And everything that I do and say in this regard, is to be done and said with love and kindness. Paul in 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 says, “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. Let all that you do be done with love.” This brings me to the second thing listed in Micah 6:8. We are “to love mercy”.

What does it mean “to love mercy”? Doesn’t that sound wonderful? It means lovingkindness. It means that I should intentionally show kindness, mercy and compassion to others in my daily walk. Is it hard to show kindness all the time? It’s hard to show kindness when someone has done us wrong, right? But this is what God calls us to do. It will truly show others who are not Christians that we are set apart. Like Jesus said in Luke 6:27-36, we are no different from anyone else if we only show kindness and mercy to people who are our friends. People outside of Christ do that. However…..we are truly set apart when we show kindness and mercy to people that we don’t really like very much, people who are annoying to us, or people who don’t treat us well. We have to remember that there is a precious soul in every person, even the ones we don’t like to be around. God calls us to be kind and merciful. Jesus specifically says in Luke 6:35-36, “But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.” Wow. That is a tough one, isn’t it? I have to work on this one. Let me ask this question to end this section. How do we want to be treated? This should sum up how we should treat others. (Matthew 7:12) And finally, the third thing listed in Micah 6:8 is that we are “to walk humbly” with our God.

What does it look like “to walk humbly” with our God? The dictionary definition of humility is “a modest or low view of one’s own importance”. Biblically, it means we are to put others before ourselves. The world is a “look out for number one” kind of place. Satan wants people to only look out for themselves, and to run over others to get what they want. Satan wants us to have a “win at all costs” attitude. The world wants us to put our desires at the top of our list and do whatever makes us happy. But as Christians, we are called to be set apart in that we put God first, others second, and ourselves last. And actually, this is the only real way to be happy. Doesn’t it make you happy to do something nice for someone else? Philippians 2:3-4 says, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” The phrase “lowliness of mind” in this verse means humility. Verse 3 is also reminding us about our motives for things we do also. We should be purely motivated by love for others in everything we do. We are even called to be concerned about the “interests” of our brothers and sisters in Christ. This means we should be looking out for each other. And we should be interested in each other as brothers and sisters. We should do this for our friends who are not Christians as well. This is how we let our light shine before men.

Ephesians 2:10 says this, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” We were “His workmanship” when we were born as a baby. We were “created in Christ Jesus” when we were born again in baptism for the remission of our sins. At that moment when we came up out of the waters of baptism, we were created “for good works”. God prepared the “good works” for us to “walk in” from the beginning. God knew how He wanted us to walk before He created the world. In John 13:34-35, Jesus spoke these words, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” Jesus wants us to show others that we belong to Him. Let’s remember Micah 6:8 in our daily Christian walks, Sisters. Let’s “do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly” with our God, ladies. If we do, we will make an impact far greater than we will ever truly realize. Like the picture at the top of the post says, we will make a difference. Love you all! Have a wonderful week!

Are you in Christ? Below I have added God’s plan of salvation with scripture references. If you need help in understanding, please reach out.

God’s Plan of Salvation

If anyone ever needs help in learning the truth of the gospel, please reach out and I can help you or put you in contact with someone who can. Below is the plan that God has set forth in His word, for mankind to receive His grace that leads to salvation and an eternity with God in heaven.

We have to hear His word. (Romans 10:17)

Upon hearing the message of Jesus, we believe it. (Mark 16:16)

Then, we confess Jesus’ name before men. (Matthew 10:32)

Next, we repent of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19)

Finally, we are baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 22:16, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-27) After baptism, God adds us to His church. (Acts 2:47)

Then, we remain faithful in our commitment to Christ until death. (Revelation 2:10, 2 Peter 2:20-22)
Our “Walk”

November 4th, 2023

Our “Walk”

Part 1

Have you ever considered the word “walk” and what it truly means? The word walk on the surface is a simple word. It can be one of two parts of speech, a verb or a noun. The verb definition for the word walk is to “move at a regular pace by lifting and setting down each foot in turn, never having both feet off the ground at once” or to “guide, accompany, or escort someone on foot”. The noun definition is “an act of traveling or an excursion on foot” or “a route recommended or marked out for recreational walking.” This all sounds pretty cut and dry doesn’t it? But in God’s word, the word “walk” means so much more than just putting one foot in front of the other. It’s much more than a leisurely stroll down an easy path. In our daily lives, we can relate every definition of the word walk that I listed above, to our Christian “walk”. When we put one foot in front of the other and “move at a regular pace” through life, what are we walking towards? Where are we going? Who is walking with us? Also, are we trying “to guide, accompany, or escort” others as they “walk”? Those questions are related to the verb definitions of the word. We are to first “walk” on our own, and then we are to “guide” others along the way as they “walk”. Now, let’s relate the noun definitions of the word “walk” to our Christian walk. Which “walk” or “route” are we taking? Who has “marked out” our walk or “route” for us? And what should our “walk” look like? What types of things should be a part of our “walk” or “excursion” of life?

So…..sisters in Christ, I ask you as well as myself, what are we walking towards? What will we have when we are finished walking? Are we walking towards earthly treasures or heavenly treasures? Are we walking towards an eternity with God? Jesus says in Matthew 6:19-21, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” All the earthly things that we enjoy are the treasures on earth that this verse is speaking of. It can be money, things, jobs, activities, hobbies, places, or even people. We have to have God above all of it. He knows where our treasure lies. Okay sisters…let’s try and form a picture in our minds of what our lives should look like. I am a visual learner, therefore I can picture myself walking through life from above. I know what my picture should look like. I should have all the worldly/material things that I enjoy moving around me in an outer circle as I walk through life. But those things should be only a part of my life. They don’t define my life and they don’t guide my life. Is this easy all the time? No, it can be very difficult to keep everything in its proper place. In the center, walking with me is where God, Jesus, His word, and His church should be. God should be slightly in front of me, because I should be letting Him guide me and dictate where I go and what I do through His word. I should be walking in His footsteps. This requires me to walk with trust in my Father in heaven. David wrote in Psalm 143:8, “Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, for in You do I trust; Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, For I lift up my soul to You.” David is pleading with God to show him the way that he should walk. David knew how dangerous it was to walk away from God and go his own way. Remember the Bathsheba and Uriah incident? Any one of us can get off track if we don’t stay cautious and focused. So….as I walk, the worldly/material things that are a part of my life follow me as I follow God. Those things don’t control me. God controls me through His word. Now, let me remind you, this is just a picture of what my life SHOULD be like all the time. This is the way I want to be. Is this how it really is for me all the time? No, it’s not. I fall daily. I walk in the wrong direction sometimes. I look down and God’s footsteps are not there, because I have left Him. But I can tell you that when I notice myself slipping away, I get myself back where I need to be immediately, which is walking in God’s footsteps. I have spent too much time away from Him and it was miserable. I may stumble and make mistakes, but I won’t be away from Him again.

What types of things should be circling me as I walk? As I walk, I must be careful that the things circling me as I walk are not sinful things. If that is the case, then I will automatically be away from God. I have already walked away if I have allowed sin to be a part of my life. I can’t walk with God and have sin in my life. Does this mean that I don’t ever sin? No, I will still sin and fall short, but I don’t stay in it. I don’t walk in it continually. There is a difference between sinning and being in sin. I recognize my mistakes and ask God to forgive me. I let Him speak to me through His word and help me to get back on the right path. Or…I may sin and not realize it, as we all do sometimes. Because I am in Christ, He cleanses me daily of those sins. I can’t, however, willfully continue to walk in sin. 1 John 1:6-7 explains this beautifully, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” We can’t have it both ways. We can’t walk with God and walk in sin. This is a lie from Satan. The world will tell us that we can, but the verses above clearly say that we can’t. Did you know that Satan can fool us into thinking we are following God, but in reality we are following him? Remember, Satan can transform himself into an angel of light. (2 Corinthians 11:14) So let’s be mindful of Satan’s deceitfulness and be on guard with our armor on at all times as we walk. (Ephesians 10-18) Jesus says in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to walk in the dark, not knowing the truth. I want to walk with Jesus in truth. In 3 John 1:4, John says through the inspiration of God, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.” Our Father is joyful when we are walking in truth. Isn’t that our desire? To bring joy to God? Acts 17:30 says that God once “winked at” or overlooked mankind’s ignorance of how to be saved, but now commands everyone to repent. But we can’t just take that one verse out of context and think that repentance is all that is required. We can’t ignore all the other commandments, such as baptism and remaining faithful until death. We know from many other scriptures that baptism is another requirement of salvation. Baptism is how we have our sins forgiven. (Acts 2:38, Acts 22:16, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:16) If we don’t know and obey the full truth of the gospel, then we are in darkness and Satan has us fooled. I want to walk with Jesus in the light. Don’t you? And I certainly wouldn’t want to begin walking in truth and then choose to walk back into the darkness of sin! 2 Peter 2:20-21 says, “For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them” This is scary, Sisters! 2 Peter 2:22 compares a Christian leaving his/her walk with God and walking back into the darkness of sin, to a dog returning to its vomit or a pig returning to roll in the mud after being washed. Sounds pretty gross, doesn’t it? I can’t even imagine standing before God on judgment day knowing that I walked away from God and His church. Put yourself in that moment. You had salvation, you walked away from it, and now it is too late to make it right. I can’t stand the thought of that for myself, my loved ones, or anyone else. Stay strong and continue walking with God in the light, Sisters.

Can things in my life that are not sinful in and of themselves cause me to stumble in my walk with God? Yes! Even if something is not sinful, it can become sinful if I put it ahead of God. At this point, it has become an idol. Is it easy to keep everything in its proper place? No, it is difficult at times. Ephesians 5:15-16 says, “See then that you walk circumspectly,(cautiously) not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” The Bible warns us in these verses to be careful as we walk. Satan wants to fool us into thinking that we are all “ok” when in reality we may be far from “ok”. So sisters….be cautious. Satan can subtly lead us into idolatry with worldly activities/things that are not inherently evil. I’m not going to try to name them all, because anything can become an idol. If you just name something, I guarantee you it has the potential to become an idol if we let it. It is perfectly fine for us to enjoy some of the things of this world that God created for us, as long as we keep them in their proper place, which is in that outer circle following us as we follow God. We can let something from our outer circle begin to lead us in place of God. And folks, this can happen gradually over time. You fill in the blank. We may put _______ ahead of church services one time. Then it happens again, and again, until it doesn’t bother us to miss services anymore. By this time, we just show up when it is convenient for us. When that happens, God is then outside my circle and is not leading me any more. And it is not because God left me. It is because I left God. And now, subtly and gradually, I am being led by Satan and the world. Don’t let this happen, Sisters. If something is regularly interfering with worship and Bible study, then it is not worth doing. Just a reminder, some things in life are out of our control and can’t be helped such as personal illness, family members illnesses, or our jobs. In those instances, our Father understands that we didn’t purposefully put something ahead of Him. He knows our hearts and knows where we truly want to be. This may be a stretch to visualize all this, but give it a try. Look at your life. Can you see yourself? Is God truly at the center of your life? Is God a half step in front of you guiding your steps as you walk? Are you in His Word enough for Him to really guide you? Do you consider God before making any decisions about where you walk? I ask you to really think about those questions. Take an honest look at your life. I am certainly taking a good, hard look at myself right now. Now, if we have this picture of ourselves walking through life in our mind, and we have been honest with ourselves, then we should know where we will spend eternity if Jesus were to return right now. Do we all agree that if we have God at the center of our life, leading us in our walk, that we are walking towards an eternity with God in heaven? I want this for all of us.

So as I end this post, I want to look at the noun definition of walk, “an act of traveling or an excursion on foot” or “a route recommended or marked out for recreational walking.” I recall two “walks” or routes that Jesus spoke of, a narrow one and a wide one. In Matthew 7:13-14, He describes these two “walks”, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Jesus ends His sermon on the mount by giving us a choice. We can choose life or death. We can either walk the easy path, ignore God’s word, and face destruction at the end of it. Or….we can walk the narrow, difficult path to an eternity with God. It’s our choice. And I just want to say to myself and to you, if we are “Christians”, and our walk is easy, we may not truly be on the narrow path. This scares me. Am I on the narrow road? I want the difficult path or “walk”. If I am standing up for Christ and His church the way that I should be, then I will have some difficulties along the way. I will have to resist the temptations that are over on the wide path. You see….that wide path of destruction runs parallel to the narrow path of salvation. I can easily step over into it and get on the wrong path at any time. I may have friends on the wide path who try to pull me over onto it. I may face persecution from people on the wide path, because I won’t come with them. I may even lose friends. If you read the entire sermon on the mount which is Matthew chapters 5 through 7, it all leads up to these verses. I find it interesting that right after He tells us about the two roads, He gives us a warning. Jesus says in Matthew 7:15-17, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.” You see….the false prophets/teachers that Jesus is warning us about will be on that wide road of destruction beside us as we walk the narrow road. These false teachers have so many people on the wrong path. Why? Because people listen to them rather than opening their Bibles and listening to God. We are commanded to study. (2 Timothy 2:15) We have to study like the Bereans and make sure what we are being told is the truth. (Acts 17:11) They had the apostle Paul and they were checking up on him!! But they were called “noble-minded” because of this. So as you walk, “beware”, as Jesus said. Check up on your preachers and bible class teachers. Check up on me! Make sure you are being taught the truth.

If we are on that narrow path, then Jesus is our foundation, our rock. We are walking on solid ground with Him. He ends his sermon on the mount with these words in Matthew 24-27, “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” There is no solid foundation on the wide path of destruction. The ground can wash out from under us at any moment if we are on that path. I want to be walking on the solid foundation of Jesus Christ. I know you do too. One of the noun definitions of walk is “a route recommended or marked out for recreational walking.” But our route is not for recreational walking. We may have things we enjoy on our walk, but it is intended to be for a purpose, a purpose that requires hard work, not just recreation. A walk or route marked out for recreational walking was marked out by mankind. Our walk or route is marked out by God and it wasn’t meant to be easy. Let’s ask ourselves, is the route or walk we are on marked out by God? I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Love you all. Thank you for reading.

Next week will be part 2 of “Our Walk” which will deal with our influence on others as we walk.

Are you in Christ? Below I have added God’s plan of salvation with scripture references. If you need help in understanding, please reach out.

God’s Plan of Salvation

If anyone ever needs help in learning the truth of the gospel, please reach out and I can help you or put you in contact with someone who can. Below is the plan that God has set forth in His word, for mankind to receive His grace that leads to salvation and an eternity with God in heaven.

We have to hear His word. (Romans 10:17)

Upon hearing the message of Jesus, we believe it. (Mark 16:16)

Then, we confess Jesus’ name before men. (Matthew 10:32)

Next, we repent of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19)

Finally, we are baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 22:16, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-27) After baptism, God adds us to His church. (Acts 2:47)

Then, we remain faithful in our commitment to Christ until death. (Revelation 2:10, 2 Peter 2:20-22)
Are We Glad?

October 28th, 2023

I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the Lord.” Psalm 122:1

Are We Glad?

What does it mean to be glad? I’m sure the first word we all think of is happy. Happy and glad are similar as far as the world is concerned. Sometimes we use them interchangeably, such as, “I’m happy that it is sunny today” or “I’m glad it is sunny today.” But gladness in a biblical sense is much deeper than the weather. According to Vine’s Bible Dictionary, gladness is translated as having joy or delight in something. Another translation is exultation or exuberant joy. Gladness is associated with rejoicing. So gladness or joy has a much deeper meaning than just being happy. The words “glad, joy, delight and rejoicing” are all basically the same word or word form. Why do you think David wrote this Psalm? Obviously, the Psalm is meant to uplift God’s people. It is a song of encouragement for God’s people from their earthly king. I can picture the people singing this song as they traveled to worship God in Jerusalem. I feel like David was trying to instill the joy of worship in God’s people. Do we ever have a hard week and not feel like going to worship services or Bible study services? Do you think God’s people felt that way at times back then? I’m sure they did, and they had to travel a long way on foot. They also had to sacrifice animals to atone for their sins, which technically didn’t even take their sins away, only rolled them forward. It was a lot!! It was a much more difficult situation than what we have today. Do you think the people were happy all the time when they were on their way to worship? Was their life perfect? Of course not. Just like our life is not perfect, neither was theirs. We have disappointments, struggles and failures, just as did they. We lose loved ones, just as did they. We deal with sickness, marriage problems, and problems with our children, just as did they. Sudden heartache and tragedy can strike us at any time just as it could back then. But in all these things….. I ask these questions, do we still have something to be glad about? Can we still feel joy even when we are in sorrow? Do we still have something to rejoice in even in the worst of times? Yes! We can rejoice and be glad because of who we belong to! We belong to Christ! Because of this fact, no matter what happens in our life, we will still have that joy ingrained in us. We may not be happy every second of every day, but we can still find joy/gladness in the darkest of times, because we know where we are going when we leave this earth, whether it happens five minutes from now or 50 years from now. Belonging to Christ is our joy. Paul says in Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” When does Paul say to rejoice in this verse? He says to rejoice always. I take that to mean in good times and in bad. And believe me, I know that it is hard to imagine rejoicing while suffering. But isn’t that how we get through the suffering? The Bible teaches us that we will have suffering. God has never sugarcoated this life for us. We will not always be happy. If that were the case, then we wouldn’t have Paul’s example shown to us as a person who endured tremendous suffering. I also don’t think Paul would talk about being content in every situation he found himself in, if his life was wonderful all the time. (Philippians 4:11-13) Paul was even rejoicing by singing praises to God with Silas while they were in prison in Philippi. After the earthquake hit and all the prisoners’ chains were loosed, the jailor was about to commit suicide, because he thought all the prisoners had surely escaped. But Paul stopped the jailor and told him not to harm himself, because they were all still there. All this led to the baptism of the Philippian jailor and his family. Amazing isn’t it? And it all started with a worship service in the prison at midnight!! It also says that all the prisoners were listening to Paul and Silas as they sang. What an example for those prisoners! The seed can certainly be sown anywhere and at any time. (Acts 16:25-40) So….what is the “house of the Lord” today?

In Psalm 122:1 David says that he was glad to go to the house of the Lord. And what do we mean by “house of the Lord” in today’s sense of the word? Well…..the house of the Lord is the church, and the church is made up of people who have been saved and added by God to the church after following God’s plan for salvation. (Acts 2:37-47) We cannot join a church of our choice. We do not join the Lord’s church. That is not found in the Bible. God adds us to the church after we are baptized. (Acts 2:47) We may place membership in a certain congregation of the Lord’s church, but that happens after God adds us to the church as a whole. Every congregation of the church of Christ makes up THE church. The church is not the building. The church is the people who are members. As long as we are worshiping God together according to His will, that is all that matters. We can look directly at the New Testament, and see if the church we are attending is the church found in the New Testament. The pattern of how we are to be saved and how we are to worship God is found in the New Testament. So…..what should my attitude be when I enter the “house of the Lord” or the church?

Are we glad to go to the house of the Lord each Sunday for worship and Bible study? Each Sunday night? Each Wednesday night? We certainly should be. We should never dread going to church services. But are any of us ever guilty of feeling this way? When we start to feel this way, let’s think of heaven. If we don’t enjoy going to worship now, how will we ever be able to be able to be in heaven someday? We will be worshiping God for eternity in heaven. We will be around His throne worshiping Him continually. (Revelation 15:2-4, Revelation 19:6-7) So if I’m not enjoying worship here on earth, then I definitely need to do some soul-searching to figure out why. At this point, it’s a heart problem and I need to fix it as quickly as I can. And maybe, it is not that we don’t enjoy worship. Maybe, because our lives are so crazy busy that we simply just dread having somewhere else to go. Maybe we don’t dread the service itself, but we just dread having to leave the house to go somewhere, because our lives are go, go, go all the time, every night of the week some weeks! Is this not a little like the seed that fell among thorns in the parable of the sower where the cares of this world choke out the word of God causing the person to become unfruitful? (Matthew 13:22) Only in this case, the busyness of our lives is getting in the way of our commitment to the Lord’s church, and choking out our desire to be at services. If our desire and commitment are choked out by worldly things, can we be fruitful for the Lord the way we are commanded to? Or maybe we are just so tired that we don’t feel up to it. But then I ask myself, do I miss work just because I’m tired? Do I miss my kids’ ball games or other activities just because I’m tired? Folks, I’m not judging. I’ve been guilty many times of missing church services when I could have gone. I am talking to myself right now as much as anyone, and I’m simply giving all of us some food for thought. What about our kids? How does our own faithfulness and attitude about going to “the house of the Lord” for worship and Bible study affect our children? And how does this affect the entire future of the church?

Sisters, I have learned from life experience and observation that if I don’t take being a Christian seriously, then my kids won’t. If I don’t put God and His church as my top priority, then my kids won’t. If worldly activities are more important to me than the services of the Lord’s church, then where do I stand with God and where will my children stand with God someday? Now sisters…… I am not talking about missing services for things that are out of our control, such as personal illness, family illnesses, and at times our secular jobs. I know that sometimes our jobs do keep us from services. But, we can still be there every opportunity that we possibly can, and we can make sure our children are there even when we can’t be there. And…..if we do have to miss services for work, our kids need to see us grieve over having to miss services. They need to know that we didn’t choose to miss, and that we would rather be there with them. Just because our jobs keep us from services sometimes doesn’t mean that we are putting our job ahead of God. Sometimes it can’t be helped. As long as we are not choosing to work shifts that fall during church services, then I believe that God understands our obligations in regards to our jobs. It is about our hearts. He knows where our hearts truly lie. My kids are grown now and I hope that when they were growing up, they saw their dad and I putting God and the Lord’s church as the top priority the majority of the time. I know we made poor decisions sometimes. We were not perfect and still aren’t, as no one is. Looking back, I can pinpoint things that I wish I had done differently with my kids. But I can’t go back. I can only admit my mistakes and try to do better now, and be a good example now and in the future. Do we truly put our church services first? What message are we sending our kids when we are able to go everywhere else, but can’t make it to Wednesday night or Sunday night services? Or Sunday morning worship and Bible class? The future of the Lord’s church and true Christianity depends on whether we make it the top priority in front of our kids right now, starting when they are babies. I ask myself, who will be our preachers of tomorrow? Who will be our elders and deacons of tomorrow? Who will be our Bible class teachers of tomorrow? I ask that you read these words from Deuteronomy 6:4-7 and see how serious God is about our children being taught His word, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” I put my name in place of Israel in those verses. God is talking to each one of us. It is never too early or never too late to start teaching your children about God in your home and taking them to worship and Bible study. Again, food for thought my friends.

What about our worship? Is it pleasing to God? Are we glad to get to worship our Father? Do we enjoy it? Are we rejoicing because we have the privilege and freedom to worship God? Do we give God our whole heart when we worship Him? It doesn’t do me any good to be at church services every time the doors are open, but have my mind focused on everything except God. Ouch, my toes!! I can’t just have the attitude of “well, I’m here and that’s all that matters”. I’m not punching a clock. I should have a deep desire to be with my spiritual family every time that I can. Jesus told the woman at the well in John 4:23-24 these words, “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” What does it mean to worship God in spirit? It means that God wants our whole heart/mind when we worship Him. He is actively seeking people who give Him their all in worship. It is literally an “all or nothing” situation. That’s a little scary to me. We can’t have our minds on other things while we are in a worship service or Bible study service. He knows if we are truly focused on Him or not. I shudder at the thought of God seeing my mind wander to things other than Him during worship. It is something we all have to fight against, because our minds are stretched so thin all the time. We are busy people, aren’t we? But when we are too busy to truly worship God in the right spirit, then we need to re-evaluate our priorities. But people worshiping with the right spirit/heart is not all that God is looking for is it? Jesus said he is looking for people who worship in “spirit and truth”. We can’t do one without the other. What does it mean to worship God in truth? Well, first, where do we find truth? We know that truth is only found in God’s word. Psalms 119:160 says, “The entirety of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.” Let that verse sink in and key in on the words “entirety and forever”. Every word of the Bible is true and it will always be here…..forever. In Jesus’ prayer in John 17:17, he prays to His Father for His disciples and says, “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” If something that we are doing in our worship to God is not found in God’s word, then we are not worshiping Him in truth. I know that people who are not a part of the church of Christ wonder why we do the things we do and why we don’t do certain things. For example, we don’t use musical instruments, praise teams, or have people singing solos in our worship services. I have gotten asked “why” several times in my life? I try to answer as best I can. We don’t use musical instruments because they were not used in the worship assembly of the first century church. God told us to sing and make melody in their hearts. He also told us to speak to one another as we sing. (Ephesians 5:19) No mention of mechanical instruments, solos or praise teams is found in the New Testament. No one’s talent is to be put on a pedestal above anyone else’s. We don’t want to turn worship into entertainment. This is why the church of Christ does not include any of that in worship. We don’t want to take any chances and assume that God is okay with things that He didn’t specifically tell us to do. I’ve heard the statement, “but God didn’t tell us not to use instruments”. If I tell my students in my class to color with crayons, I shouldn’t have to list all the other things I don’t want them to use. God has told us what to do, so why not just do that? We don’t have to have a list of all the things He doesn’t want us to do. This is food for thought, my friends and spoken with complete love and respect. If you are searching for a church that teaches the truth of God’s word in love, please consider the church of Christ. It is not a name, it is a description. It is the church that belongs to Christ. It is the church that Jesus told Peter he would build in Matthew 16:18. I love knowing that I belong to the original church found in Acts 2. I know that the apostles got their instructions on what to preach during that first gospel sermon in Acts 2 directly from Christ before He ascended back into heaven. Why would I listen to anyone else’s opinion? Acts 1:3 says that Jesus was with the apostles for forty days, “speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom (church) of God.” Jesus gave them instructions on how the church was supposed to be organized. He prepared those men for that day of Pentecost for forty days after His resurrection, and then He ascended back to heaven to be with His Father. (Acts 1:9) Nothing about the first century church should have been changed. Why take chances with your eternal soul? Make sure that you are being taught the truth found in the Bible. One of the greatest ways that we can show that we are glad to go to the “house of the Lord”, which is the Lord’s church, is to be content to do things the way that God says for us to do them in His Word. We just need to simply obey God. We don’t need to add anything to our worship to “make it better”. God established His church. He gave us a pattern for worship with examples in the New Testament of the things He wants us to include in worship. Nothing that we add to it or take away from it could ever make it any “better”. How can man ever improve on what God has established? I know that many who read this may disagree. None of this is said to pass judgment. Judgment is for God and God only. Everything that I write is written with Christian love and the utmost respect for everyone who reads it. I am only giving a simple explanation of why we do what we do in the church of Christ.

So….to end this post, here are some questions for myself to review. Am I truly glad to go to the house of the Lord? Is my attitude right? I can’t dread going to worship. I need to remember that in heaven I will be worshiping continually. If I don’t love to worship here on earth, then how am I going to be in heaven doing it continually? Do I feel joy and rejoice in the fact that I am a member of the Lord’s church in good times and bad? I need to remember how lucky I am to be a member of His church, and find joy in that even in the hardest of times. Am I putting church services as my top priority? I need to remember that a part of putting God as my top priority is putting the services of His church as a top priority. This is so important when we are trying to raise our children to be faithful Christians. The church of tomorrow depends on us as adults in our children’s lives. Do I need to examine my priorities? I know that I need to continually examine my priorities to keep them in the right order or I will drift. And finally, am I a member of the “house of the Lord”, which is the Lord’s church? If you are not a member of the Lord’s church and have questions, please reach out. I’m happy to help in any way that I can. I’ll end this post the same way that I began it with the question, are you glad? Do you have true joy in your life? I hope everyone has a wonderful week ahead!! Thank you for reading!! Love to you all.

Are you in Christ? Below I have added God’s plan of salvation with scripture references. If you need help in understanding, please reach out.

God’s Plan of Salvation

If anyone ever needs help in learning the truth of the gospel, please reach out and I can help you or put you in contact with someone who can. Below is the plan that God has set forth in His word, for mankind to receive His grace that leads to salvation and an eternity with God in heaven.

We have to hear His word. (Romans 10:17)

Upon hearing the message of Jesus, we believe it. (Mark 16:16)

Then, we confess Jesus’ name before men. (Matthew 10:32)

Next, we repent of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19)

Finally, we are baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 22:16, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-27) After baptism, God adds us to His church. (Acts 2:47)

Then, we remain faithful in our commitment to Christ until death. (Revelation 2:10, 2 Peter 2:20-22)
Freedom in Christ

October 21st, 2023

What is True Freedom?

Galatians 5:1

Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.

When you think of liberty or freedom, what comes to your mind? We celebrate our country’s freedom every year on July 4th and I think it is a wonderful holiday. I am glad to live in a country where we have the freedoms that we have. We enjoy freedom of speech. We have the freedom to vote for our elected officials. It is awesome that we get a say-so in who runs our country and our state, all the way down to who runs our local government. We have the freedom to worship God according to the Bible without fear of persecution or harm. We are very lucky in this country. Juneteenth (June 19th) is another holiday that I believe is important to recognize in this country. I am glad that we are recognizing this holiday as of the last couple of years. It commemorates the ending of the horrible practice of slavery in our country. How we as a country could be a part of something so degrading and dehumanizing is beyond me. We have come a long way in this country as far as basic human rights are concerned. Of course our country is not perfect, however, it is the only country that I would want to live in at this present moment in time. Do I agree with everything our government decides to do? No I don’t. Do I agree with everything the government allows to happen? Absolutely not. But I do not dwell on everything that I don’t agree with. I can only strive to live my life the way that I know God wants me to live, and try to be a positive influence on others along the way. But there is a type of freedom that is above every other type of freedom. I am thankful that I have a type of freedom that goes beyond the worldly freedoms of this life. The freedom that I am most proud of is the freedom that I have in Christ. It is the most important freedom that I have. No matter what happens here on earth, Galatians 5:1 tells me that I am free because I belong to Christ. Let’s dive in and look at the context of this verse. Who was Paul talking to in this verse? What was going on at this time? Why is he writing the letter? How does it apply to us today?

So first….who is Paul talking to in Galatians 5:1 and what is going on at this time? In Galatians 1:2, we read that Paul is writing to the “churches of Galatia”. The churches of Galatia are the ones that Paul established on his first missionary journey: Antioch of Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. Paul and his company endured heated persecution from the Jews in these cities. In Acts 13:49, when Paul was preaching in Antioch of Pisidia, we learn that, “the word of the Lord was being spread throughout all the region.” Acts 13:50 tells us that the Jews did not like the success that Paul was having in their city, so they “stirred up the devout and prominent women and the chief men of the city, raised up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region.” Then, when they moved on to Iconium, they were teaching in the synagogue and “a great multitude both of the Jews and of the Greeks believed.” (Acts 14:1) So, again they were having success!! However, we see in Acts 14:2 that because of their success, “the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brethren.” The city was divided with some standing with the apostles and some standing with the Jews. In Acts 14:5, the Bible says that “a violent attempt was made by both the Gentiles and the Jews, with their rulers, to abuse and stone them.” So Paul and his brethren were chased out of Iconium and went into the cities of Lystra and Derbe where they continued preaching the gospel. (Acts 14:6-7) Let’s not forget that Lystra is where Paul was stoned and left for dead. (Acts 14:19) It is so amazing that Paul and his brethren never backed down in the face of persecution. They just kept preaching the truth without fear of what might happen to them. I ask myself these questions often. If the message of Jesus wasn’t true, why would people risk their life for it? Why would Stephen die for it? (Acts 7) Does it make sense for people to be so passionate about a message that isn’t 100% true? And how would something that is not 100% true stand the test of time the way that the gospel has? If anyone reading this has doubts, those are just questions to stir your heart. Why take a chance with your eternal soul? The God of the universe is in complete control. The Bible is 100% truth. There is no doubt in my mind. Always keep in mind the verses that, in my opinion, are the hub of the entire Bible. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

So……why did Paul write a letter to the Galatian churches? In Galatians 1:6-7 we find Paul’s reason for the letter. It reads, “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.” Paul wrote the letter to get the Galatian Christians back on track. They had been influenced by Jewish false teachers who were still trying to keep the law of Moses. The Jews were trying to bind parts of the law of Moses on these new Christians. They were telling them they had to be circumcised in order to be saved. (Acts 15:1) This was the perverting of the gospel that Paul was referring to in Galatians 1:6-7. Paul called it a “different gospel”, however he then clarifies that there is no other gospel when he says, “which is not another”. Paul then went so far as to say in Galatians 1:8, that if anyone preaches another gospel to them, let them be accursed. And…..for good measure he made that statement again in verse 9. These Jews were trying to undermine Paul’s teachings, and they were even trying to discredit Paul’s apostleship. We know this by the way Paul begins the letter in Galatians 1:1. He says, “Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead).” Paul begins the letter by defending his apostleship first and foremost! Then he defends the gospel a few verses down from this in Galatians 1:11-12 when he says, “But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.” I am sure that all this was confusing to the new Galatian Christians. And I’ll bet these false teachers were super convincing just the way that false teachers are in this day and age. But just think about all the persecution that Paul endured when he was preaching and establishing churches in those cities. I can’t even imagine the kind of persecution and pressure that was put on those new Christians in those cities! Were they ready for that pressure? They were babes in Christ! They were vulnerable. They had just come out of pagan religion to become New Testament Christians. And now, they had these people coming to them who were very knowledgeable in the law of Moses, saying that Paul was a fake and everything that he told them was a lie. These new Christians were not grounded in the truth yet, and I am sure these Jews seemed very intelligent and charismatic. I’m sure they appeared to know what they were talking about. Does this sound familiar? Isn’t this going on in our world today? There are some very charismatic men and women spreading false doctrine like wildfire in our country and across the world today. Paul and the apostles preached repentance and baptism in order to be saved. In Romans 6, Paul gives a beautiful explanation of baptism and the essentiality of it. The entire chapter is focused on baptism. He also says in Galatians 3:27 that everyone that is baptized into Christ has put on Christ. He told them in the Galatian letter that if they tried to keep the law of Moses, that they would sever themselves from Christ. So basically they would not be in Christ anymore at that point. He told them that if they kept one part of the law, then they would have to keep all of it. He said that they would “fall from grace” if they tried to be in Christ and still follow parts of the law of Moses. (Galatians 5:2-6) In other words, they had to be “all in” for the gospel of Christ. We have to be “all in” for the gospel of Christ as well. Also, the term “fallen from grace” in verse four refutes the idea of the “once saved, always saved” doctrine that many denominations teach today. The parallel between these judaizing false teachers and the false teachers of today is clear. They were distorting the truth of how to be saved back then in somewhat the same way that people distort it today. Isn’t the truth distorted today when false teachers tell people they don’t have to be baptized in order to be saved? That they can just verbally say they want to be saved? In comparison, the Jews during this time in history were trying to bind more on the Galatian Christians by making them adhere to the law of Moses in order to be saved. Whereas false teachers today are telling people just the opposite. They are teaching people that they don’t have to do what the Bible plainly says is required to be saved. In some instances, people are told they don’t have to do anything at all to be saved. Please study for yourself. The scriptures on the steps of salvation, which include baptism, are at the bottom of this post. If you need help understanding, please reach out. I would love to study with you or put you in contact with someone to study with.

How does Galatians 5:1 apply to us today? So…..when Paul says “do not be entangled again in the yoke of bondage”, what does that mean to me? It means that I don’t need to become a slave to sin again after I become a Christian. Just like the Galatian Christians during the first century, didn’t need to become slaves to the law of Moses again, we can’t become slaves to the world and to sin again, once we have gained our freedom through Christ. We can’t have God and the world. Christ chose us out of the world and out of sin through the gospel. (John 15:19) Why would we want to lose our freedom in Christ and be a slave to sin and worldly desires again? Paul explains the difference in being a slave to sin and a slave to God in Romans 6:20-23. It reads, “When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right. And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom. But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” I normally use the New King James Version, but I used the New Living Translation for these verses because I thought it made it easier to understand. When we are a slave to our worldly desires and sin, what are we working toward? What is our end result? Spiritual death and separation from God for eternity is the end result of being a slave to sin. (Isaiah 59:2) When we are baptized into Christ and become a Christian, we are slaves to God. We are slaves to what is good and righteous in God’s eyes. When we are slaves to God, what are we working toward? What is our end result? Eternal life with God and His Son Jesus Christ is our end result when we are slaves to God. And I ask myself, is it really slavery to be a Christian? Do I feel enslaved? NO!! I am free from the sin, the worries, and the cares of this world. It has been a journey for me to feel this freedom and I still struggle some days in certain areas of my life. It certainly does not mean that life is perfect. But…..being a Christian is the closest thing to a perfect life that I can imagine. Have I ever fallen away? Have I had to repent of sin that I let myself fall back into? Have I had to go back before my brothers and sisters in Christ and ask for forgiveness? Have I had to rededicate my life to Christ? Have I had to ask for the prayers of my brothers and sisters in Christ? Have I been on my knees before God begging Him to forgive me and help me? Yes!! To all of the above questions!! It took me quite a while to realize what a special thing I had. I had been raised in the church for my entire life, and I am sorry to say that I took it for granted. I feel like I was just going through the motions of what I had been raised to do. It wasn’t truly my faith. I was still just doing what mom and dad had taught me to do for a while. It was not that I didn’t believe it, but I wasn’t taking responsibility for my own part in it. I am truly thankful for my wonderful parents and my upbringing in the Lord. I would not be where I am today without it. But we all mature at our own pace depending on our own circumstances. I truly believed everything that I was taught, but I didn’t find my own way as a Christian until later in life. I didn’t have my own ministry and mission, which every Christian needs, by the way. Everyone has something to offer the church and the lost. We just have to find our own niche. Anyway, I am fully vested in my own ministry and mission for Christ. I know that I can never do enough, but I’ll never stop trying to do more. I pray that my children have found their own faith in God set apart from us as their parents. I pray they have found their own ministry and mission, their niche. Every Christian, no matter what age, is their own separate branch with their own separate responsibilities on the vine which is Christ’s body, the church. (John 15:1-8) I had to become my own branch separate from my parents’ branches as we all do. This is a big part of the freedom we feel in Christ. We have to come into our own as Christians. We fully give our lives to God, and find our own ministry in the church and mission for the lost. That is when we find true freedom. Your ministry and mission will not be the same as someone else’s. It is yours. And btw, you don’t have to go to another country to be a missionary. I’m so thankful that we have people who can and are willing to do that. That is their niche. But we are all missionaries in our own way by how we live our lives and conduct ourselves in front of the lost. We have a mission field in front of us everywhere we go. People can see Jesus in us if we are letting Him be seen. That is freedom. Showing Jesus through love toward the lost is freedom and it is a mission. Don’t ever diminish your impact as a Christian.

To find true freedom in Christ, I had to fully give my life to Him, to fully trust in Him, and to fully give my struggles and temptations to Him. I had to lay myself at His feet. I can honestly say, I don’t know what took me so long to figure it out. Take my advice, my sisters in Christ, younger and older. Stay strong in Christ. Don’t let yourself fall away. Pick your people that you hang around very carefully. Surround yourself with people who are positive influences on you. Study God’s word every single day. This will help us find our ministry and mission. Being in God’s word gives us confidence. I need to know God’s word if I am going to help someone else to know it. Plus, God cannot heal you if you don’t allow Him to speak to you through His word. Pray to God every single day. Tell Him everything. He is your ultimate best friend. Show Christ’s love to others and you will have a ministry and a mission that will grow as you grow. Being in Christ is the only true and complete freedom. Be your own branch on His vine. (John 15:1-8) You are so important to His kingdom. Now if you are not in Christ at this point, He needs you. He wants you. No matter how you were raised, no matter what your past is, no matter what walk of life you are in. It doesn’t matter to God what you have done in the past. We all have a past. He wants to forgive you and He wants everyone to be saved. 1 Timothy 2:3-4 says, “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” He wants you to understand the truth and be free in Him. He died for you. You can overcome whatever sin is in your life through Him and be free. Ecclesiastes 1:9 says, “That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun.” Whatever struggles with sin you have today are the same struggles that people had in the past all the way back to Biblical times. Let Jesus’ blood wash you clean so that you can be free. And please…..don’t let anyone tell you that the truth is whatever you want it to be and that truth is subjective. The truth is not subjective. Subjective means that the information is based on someone’s opinions, feelings or emotions. The truth is objective. Objective means that the information is based on facts and evidence. The Bible is 100% the truth, because every word of it is from God, and God who created all things is the only one who has the authority to determine truth. Men do not have that authority and neither do we through our opinions, feelings, and emotions. We will have to change and we will more than likely have some bad habits to break. It will not be easy and we may fall and get back up several times. I certainly did. We all do. We may have some things that we have to deny ourselves of. The Bible says that we have to deny ungodliness (sin) and worldly lusts (sin) in order to have hope in Christ. (Titus 2:11-14) Unless we change we cannot be in Christ. But won’t the change be soooo worth it? To be with God and His Son Jesus Christ in heaven someday? To be free from all the sin, worry and cares of the world? I don’t know about you, but that is my ultimate goal, for myself and everyone else as well. Like I always remind everyone, we won’t be perfect!! It is not about being perfect. It is about our effort to be Christ-like and live according to His purpose. I want everyone to feel the freedom found in Christ. Remember Jesus’ words in John 8:31-32, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Let Christ free you. Love to all of you. Thank you so much for reading. Have a wonderful week ahead!!

Are you in Christ? Below I have added God’s plan of salvation with scripture references. If you need help in understanding, please reach out.

God’s Plan of Salvation

If anyone ever needs help in learning the truth of the gospel, please reach out and I can help you or put you in contact with someone who can. Below is the plan that God has set forth in His word, for mankind to receive His grace that leads to salvation and an eternity with God in heaven.

We have to hear His word. (Romans 10:17)

Upon hearing the message of Jesus, we believe it. (Mark 16:16)

Then, we confess Jesus’ name before men. (Matthew 10:32)

Next, we repent of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19)

Finally, we are baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 22:16, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-27) After baptism, God adds us to His church. (Acts 2:47)

Then, we remain faithful in our commitment to Christ until death. (Revelation 2:10, 2 Peter 2:20-22)
More Than Conquerors Part 2

October 14th, 2023

More Than Conquerors

Part 2- But how do I overcome discouragement?

In my last post, we focused on discouragement. We said that discouragement is not from God. It is from Satan. It is one of his most subtle tools that he uses to gain control over our lives. We looked at what discouragement can do to us as Christians. If we allow discouragement to grow, it can take us away from God. We talked about some things that cause us to get discouraged in this life. So….how do I overcome discouragement? If I am “more than a conqueror”, then how do I conquer discouragement?

First of all, let’s define discouragement in everyday terms. It is the feeling we allow ourselves to get when life isn’t going our way. Maybe our prayers have not been answered the way we wanted them to be answered. Maybe we keep having setbacks in different areas of our lives. So basically, discouragement is actually about ourselves and our unfulfilled lives. One definition says that it is a loss of enthusiasm for something. But what causes us to lose our enthusiasm? Well….just like I said above, when things don’t go our way in a certain area of our life, we lose our zeal and enthusiasm for that area of our life. But when our spiritual life is the area where we are losing our zeal and enthusiasm, then we have to address it before we spiral. So what are some ways to overcome discouragement in our Christian walks?

To begin with, I want to ask myself this question. Am I being honest and real? I believe we all need to be honest and real about our struggles and weaknesses. We don’t need to continue to pretend like everything is wonderful when we are really torn to pieces inside. That will not help us. It will cause more discouragement. We have a church family who will embrace us if we open up and let them. Ask for the prayers of your congregation if you feel you are simply just hanging on by a thread. Or maybe you need to talk one-on-one with a sister in Christ about how you are feeling. This is where we need to be available for each other, ladies. We are all human and we need encouragement from each other, and sometimes we need to voice our disappointments and our feelings of discouragement to someone else. Who knows? They may be feeling the same way you do. Maybe together you can lift one another up. 1 Corinthians 12:26 says, “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.” We are all in this Christian race together. Let’s help each other along the way. And let’s not forget that sometimes in our weak moments, we may be able to help someone else just as much as they helped us. So be honest and be real.

Next question for myself is, who am I focused on? When I am discouraged, where is my focus? It is 100% on myself. I am feeling sorry for myself. The Christian life is not all about me and what I want. It is about serving God and serving others to the best of my ability at any given moment. I have to remember my “why” for being a Christian. In a secular example, sometimes I have gotten discouraged in my career as a teacher. Things were just not going well in my classroom. The kids seemed disinterested no matter what I did. They were not progressing no matter what I did. I felt like a failure. And of course, I would go home discouraged. But….then I would remember my “why”. Why am I a teacher? Is it about me and how I feel? No! I am a teacher, because I love children and I love to see them become successful. I love to see the lightbulb come on when they finally catch on to something. My “why” for being a teacher is about helping children. When I redefined my “why”, I suddenly began to get new ideas just popping into my head of how I could engage them again. It is the same thing in our Christian walk. Why are we Christians? What is my “why”? Well look at Ephesians 2:10 and we see our “why”. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” We are here to do good works for others. And a part of the good work that we are here to do is to tell people about the gospel. It is not all about us. I mean, of course we want to go to heaven. We follow God because we want to be with Him for eternity. But getting discouraged will not get us closer to Him. It will inch us further from Him. Let’s turn our attention to helping others as best we can in whatever situation we are in. Let’s all remember Philippians 2:3-4, “ Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” I need to focus on others rather than myself. Then I may not have time to get discouraged. I have my Christian family to encourage and build up, plus I have people in my life all around me who are not Christians who need the gospel. Discouragement? Nope, no time for it.

Another question for myself, can my pain and suffering help others? This sort of goes along with the paragraph above about focusing on others. If I am having problems in some way, maybe I should use those problems for the good of someone else. Maybe my pain and suffering can encourage someone else and help them make it through their struggles. This should keep me from letting my problems distract and discourage me. I need to know that I am not alone in my struggles and I don’t want others to be alone either. Listen to Paul in 2 Corinthians 4:8-10, “We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.” He told the Christians at Corinth what a struggle he and his entourage were having, but not in a discouraging way. He said, yes we have it rough, but we are not giving up! He said, we are not in despair, meaning we are not discouraged! He told them all of this to lift them up and to encourage them to keep the faith. Then in verse 15 of this same chapter Paul tells them why they endure what they endure. “For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:15) He says, we are doing all of this for you, Christians at Corinth! And then he says some of the most encouraging words to those Christians in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” Wow! Let’s not forget that these words are for us today, just as much as they were for the Christians at Corinth back then. I have told you all before that I love to make Bible verses personal for me. If I were to put my name into those verses to make them personal for me and talk myself through it, I would say, “Don’t be discouraged Greta. Your outward body and appearance is fading, but your inward spirit is being renewed every day. And you know that your problems here on earth are really not that bad, because they will end someday. Greta, don’t look at the things that are temporary here on earth. Don’t focus on all the bad things going on in the world, and all the problems in your life. Those are temporary. Focus on the eternal life that you will have with God someday. Think about all the people whose problems won’t end after this life. Think about all the people who won’t have eternal life. Focus on them and help them. This is what God told you to do, Greta Hoover!” This is how I get myself out of feeling sorry for myself. This is how I combat discouragement. So please, spend time in God’s word and in prayer. Make the scriptures come to life for you. Talk or pray through them. Make them become personal for you. This really helps me. Maybe it could help you as well.

So, let’s review! We need to be real and honest about our feelings, struggles, and problems. We don’t need to hide them and push them down inside. We need to turn to our church family for help. We need to remember our “why” for being a Christian. What should be our focus? Remember, it is not all about us. We are here to help and support others. Focusing on others will help us stop focusing on ourselves and our troubles. And…our struggles may help someone else to not feel alone. If we talk about our feelings and struggles with others in a positive way, it may lift them up and help them to be able to keep moving forward through their pain and suffering. Renew your mind with God’s word and with prayer. Use the Bible to talk yourself through your problems and struggles in whatever way works for you. Pray to God. Talk to Him like you would a friend. And…..always remember the reward that you have coming when this life is over. Stay focused on the fact that you will be with God for eternity. Keep that in the forefront of your mind at all times.

And last, rest and relax when you need to. Do what you can do for the cause of Christ and then relax. Do I mean relax and do nothing? No! However, we have to rest our minds and God knows this. Give yourself time to rest in Christ. I think of Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God.” We can rest in the fact that God is in control no matter what we are having to go through on this earth. Believe it or not, I struggle with this one. I am always feeling like I’m not doing enough and I don’t allow myself to relax and rest. I need to relax and know that God is pleased with me. So do you. If you are doing all you can do for Christ, within your limitations, then let yourself rest and relax. It’s all good. We all have individual limitations, and God knows what each of us can do and can’t do. Know your limitations, work for the cause of Christ, and then give yourself time to rest. God is preparing heaven for us.

Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Jesus would not have told us to rest in these verses if He didn’t mean it. He knows that we need to rest and relax sometimes. But notice, Jesus is addressing those who “labor”, which means those who work hard for His kingdom. He expects us to be busy and active in His church and for His church. However, He also knows our limitations and knows that we have to rest and relax in Him. We have to have balance in our lives. Doesn’t reading those verses spoken by Jesus relax you?

I hope this helps you if you are struggling with discouragement. Life is tough sometimes but we are so lucky to be “more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” (Romans 8:37)

Have a wonderful week! Thank you for reading! Love you all!

Are you in Christ? Below I have added God’s plan of salvation with scripture references. If you need help in understanding, please reach out.

God’s Plan of Salvation

If anyone ever needs help in learning the truth of the gospel, please reach out and I can help you or put you in contact with someone who can. Below is the plan that God has set forth in His word, for mankind to receive His grace that leads to salvation and an eternity with God in heaven.

We have to hear His word. (Romans 10:17)

Upon hearing the message of Jesus, we believe it. (Mark 16:16)

Then, we confess Jesus’ name before men. (Matthew 10:32)

Next, we repent of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19)

Finally, we are baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 22:16, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-27) After baptism, God adds us to His church. (Acts 2:47)

Then, we remain faithful in our commitment to Christ until death. (Revelation 2:10, 2 Peter 2:20-22)