A way of escape

2 Tim. 2:24 -26 "A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people. Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people's hearts, and they will learn the truth. Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil's trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants."

This has become one of my favorite verses as of late. My favorite part is that perhaps God will change their hearts. Their is so much hope wrapped up in that one little verse - PERHAPS GOD WILL CHANGE THOSE PEOPLE'S HEARTS. Isn't that awesome - that God would be gracious enough to change their hearts.

THEN THEY WILL COME TO THEIR SENSES AND ESCAPE THE DEVIL'S TRAP... Again - more hope. There is hope for people to escape from the devil's trap, because they have been held captive by him. They have been held captive by the lies.

There is a song that has become very popular recently that discusses the dysfunctionality of a relationship. When things are good, they're great but then someone blows up and they fall into the old routine of fighting and telling lies.

The biggest issue with this song is the message that it sends. The message that the dysfunctionality of relationships has become the "norm." When things are bad we tell each other lies to keep them from leaving us.

I've seen this pattern in the lives of many people. They know the relationship isn't healthy, they want to escape but they don't know how.

So we teach the truth. We teach the truth with love, patience and kindness - just as our God is loving, patient and kind toward us. We teach the truth of the Gospel in hopes that God will change their hearts.

Omission

Last night at Bible Study, our pastor pointed out an area in which David fell into sin that I had never noticed before. David did not fulfill his obligation as King when he failed to go to the battlefield with the rest of his men, therefore David committed the sin of omission.

And yes, using the term "sin of omission" is my attempt at being scholarly

Ahhh, I digress.

The sin of omission is not doing what we ought to do when it is in our ability to do it. When we see a brother or sister in need, we have the ability to meet those needs yet we don't do it. That is the sin of omission. As I thought about this sin that David committed, the sin of omission, I began to see the areas in my own life where I committ the same sin.

Applicably as well, are the more practical issues of life. God has made us stewards of our time, our money and our talents. When we don't do those things we ought to do, such as set up a budget or manage our time properly we reap the consequences or our actions. Debt and missed deadlines ensue.

But God in His great mercy always sends us forms of warning, that if we don't ignore, will help to bring us to repentance and place us back on track.

Trying to be a hero.

How can people pick themselves up by their bootstraps if they don't even have boots?

I have spent the last two nights worrying about people's lives that I have no control over. Somehow in the back of my mind I think if I try harder, if I say the right thing then perhaps I will reach them and they will change their lives forever. Guilt sets in that I am not there for them enough, I am not doing enough, calling enough, falling through enough telling them I love them enough.

I have to take a step back and realize that I am not God. Only God has the power to transform and change a person from the inside out. No amount of money, gifts, or things I throw at these people are going to save them or change their lives. The only life preserver I can really truly offer is Jesus.

The only reason I know this to be true is because it is only by God's grace that I have been changed. I am not the same person as I was 10 years ago. My goals, my attitudes, my priorities have all changed. To some extent, this is the natural course of life. But in other ways, I know it is the power of God working in my life.

And I know He can work in their lives too. All I can do is to continue to do the good works that God created me to do. I can love, serve, and encourage but that is where my responsiblity stops. The rest is up to God.

If only I could always remember this...

Were they saying "Puppy cheeks" or "Puffy cheeks?"?

I have never been one for standing up for myself or for others and today I had a fight with one of my closest friends whom I will call *Anastasia (mostly because I think she'd like that name or perhaps she would prefer Annabelle). This is really the only second real fight that I've ever had when it comes to friendship.

I have always lived my life trying to please people. When I was in elementary school every day my friend would take my cupcake from the lunch my mom had packed me and every day I would fight back tears b/c I was so mad. I never said anything b/c I didn't want to lose my friend. Another story, I was always very chubby while I was growing up and everyone always thought it was cute to grab my cheeks and pinch them and say "PUPPY CHEEKS! PUPPY CHEEKS!" Although, now that I think about it maybe they were saying "PUFFY CHEEKS! PUFFY CHEEKS!" which would make more sense. At any rate I always fought back tears, not b/c the pinching hurt, but because I just wanted them to stop but I couldn't find the strength to fight back.

Any time conflict has arisen in my life I would always either given in and do what the other person thought was best or we would both go our separate ways never speaking to each other again. In the second scenario, I would put up a wall of defense and once again decide that I could never trust people and it wasn't worth the effort to let them into my life.

On those occasions when I gave in it was because I was afraid that they would hate me, never want to speak to me again and I would be disbanned from their lives forever. I placed my value as a person in their opinions.

Living a life to please other people has always caused a lot of stress and anxiety for me. In all actuality it has always been the number one cause of stress in my life, especially when I was growing up.

All that to say this. It is because of Anastasia that I am learning what true friendship is. A true friend will fight with you about something they are passionate about, not because they hate you but because they love you and want what is best for you. Both of you may be wrong, but in the end it is the growing and strengthening that matters.

*Anastasia has been used to protect the innocent

Christianity - A multiple choice exam?

Sometimes Christianity feels a lot like a mulitiple choice exam. You know the ones given by the really tough teachers. The answers to the questions are all similar except for one tiny little word.

Today, I recieved two pieces of mail from two different ministries. The one letter filled words like the name of Jesus, the Holy Spirit and the Bible. PROMISED that all of my dreams would come true and that God wanted me to be rich and to prosper. This letter was filled with scriptures. As I sat reading the letter, which I knew was false from the start I began to feel a flood of emotions - mostly anger. 1)People are using God's word falsley to get rich 2) These predators are preying on people who are desperate, need hope and they do need God.

If you don't truly know who God is by studying His word and praying it is so easy to fall for these traps. The Bible even says that false teachers will come and that people will use the Word of God for their own benefit and to get rich. I could've totally fallen for this trap and sent this ministry my life savings - the letter was that convincing!!!!!! Oh and in return I would get a gold cross - a rare piece of Christian Jewelry to wear around my neck as my own personal good luck charm. Yippee!!!!!!

But I know Jesus. I hear and follow His voice because I read and STUDY my Bible. Not everything preached is true even though the Bible is filled with Truth. Read your Bible - it may just save you from spending your life savings :).

In all seriousness though we need to be studying our Bibles - not only for our own sake but also for the sake of others.

Why do good things happen to bad people?

I am deviating away just a little bit from a normal blog post but I feel compelled to discuss the age old question - "Why do bad things happen to good people?" I read a blog this morning that also attempted to answer the same question.

Perhaps we should flip the coin and ask the question "Why do good things happen to bad people?" We were all born sinners and continue to have the sin nature in us. Therefore we are all bad. It is through God's grace, mercy and His love for us that good things happen. ALL GOOD things come from God.

Asking the question "Why do bad things happen to good people?" in a way makes God out to be sadistic - even if you quote scriptures such as "All good things work together for the good of those who love God."

I understand that during the midst of a bad situation it is human nature to search for answers, to turn to God looking for answers. I don't believe that this age old question will ever be answered - I'm just saying that maybe if we look at the situations from a different perspective, perhaps it will help us to better understand God and come to know Him more as we see Him working through our bad situation.

31 Today

I will be 31 in a few days and I am still single, and it does not depress me!!! In fact, I'm totally loving it!! The single life has been a hot topic of conversation lately, I think mostly due in part to the movie He's Just Not That Into You.

I for one have known my whole entire life that should I be destined to be single forever I could totally be content with it. Yes, I do desire to get married and have a family, but there is also something very appealing to me about living the single life and there always has been. Singleness is a gift and a blessing, just as marriage is a blessing and a gift. However, like any gift, both can be taken for granted and abused.

With that being said, let me share a couple of scriptures regarding being single.

Matthew 19:10-12 Jesus, disciples said to him, "If this is the case, it is better not to marry!" "Not everyone can accept this statement," Jesus said. "Only those whom God helps. Some are born as eunichs, some have been made eunichs by others, and some choose not to marry for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. Let anyone accept this who can."

Paul says this in 1 Corinthians 32-34 "I want you to be free from the concerns of this life. An unmarried man can spend his time doing the Lord's work and thinking how to please him. But a married man has to think about earthly responsiblities and how to please his wife. His interests are divided, in the same way, a woman who is no longer married has to think about her earthly responsiblities and how to please here husband. I am saying this for your benefit, not to place restrictions on you. I want you to do whatever will help you serve the Lord best, with as few distractions as possible."

What I get from both of these scriptures is not that Jesus or Paul is saying that one blessing is better than the other. They are both blessings, and each reaps its own benefits, each requires its own sacrifice and commitment.

In either situation, married or single, we can choose to live for ourselves, which is not what God intended. Many pastors have said that this is one reason marriages fail, each person in the relationship is living for themselves and not for the other person.

When you're single you don't have to live for anyone but yourself. But notice, both Paul and Jesus said that being single was for the beneift of the Kingdom, not for just receiving out of life what we want. We as single people are still called to love and serve one another and even more to a greater extent than those who are married.

There are things learned in marriage about God and having children that single people don't learn. And there are things that a single person learns about God that married people don't learn. Since I only have the perspective of a single person, and I'm almost 31, for sure I have gained some wisdom along the way, which I will save for another post.

I will close with this. Many of the great woman I admire, while not Christian, married later in life. They are very successful woman, who lived life for themselves to achieve what they wanted. I think the common thread among them, is that they realized that living for themselves and achieving success was not fulfilling. While they will never experience complete fulfillment without God, they did learn a Biblical Truth, whether they realize it or not. And how many of us know that the Bible is profitable to all, even if they don't know God? But, alas, I digress, I shall save that for another post. The truth these women learned is that our lives have meaning when we are living, loving and serving others. Just listen to Dr. Laura (a woman who married late in life), and she will tell you this is true.

I am 31, single, and totally rocking it!!!!!!