There is Beauty in the Storm

Across town the snow is falling and the roads are getting slick, Mary begins to look out the window and worry.  Over the last hour the snow started to really come down and the newscaster is predicting over 4 inches in the new few hours.  Mary said to no one in particular, "storms come for no reason but to bring trouble". She starts hoping and praying her boss tells everyone to pack it up.  She can just see the traffic at a stand still.  Mary wants to get home to the kids, the school already said they would be dismissing early.  Soon the announcement comes that everyone can go, and to get home as soon as possible, it going to be a blizzard.  Mary becomes worried and fearful, the last time she drove in the snow someone almost hit her car and she knows today will probably be no better.  Curse this snow, Mary thought.

 

Now the snow begins to fall in the neighborhood and Alex and Hailey can't wait to get off of the school bus.  They hurry into the house and their Dad, Michael has just arrived home too.  They greet their Dad and inquire as to when Mary, their Mom will be home.  Michael reports that he just spoke with her and that she's on her way.  The kids get giddy with excitement and run toward the garage.  Michael continues into the living room.

 

Mary makes it home after a grueling bout with traffic. She walks in the house as the wind picks up and again curses the snow under her breath.  As she walks in the house she's greeted with warmth from the fire place and immediately feels warmth all the way down to her toes.  She come to the living room where she sees the window covering spread and open to reveal the shovels in the back yard and all the fixings to sled and make snow men. The snow is falling and its a beautiful sight! She also find Michael, Alex and Hailey gathered around the fire with mugs of hot chocolate. One is sitting to the side for her. Hailey exclaims they've been waiting for her to get home!  Alex explains how they were super excited to get out of school early and how they got everything ready to play in the snow later!  Michael holds his arms out so that she can come get comfortable with them and enjoy the rest of the day.  As she sits down he whispers into her ear "thank God for blizzards".

Mary considered her earlier feelings regarding the snow, about how it was such a hassle and just made for a miserable time.  As she thought to herself, she looked at her family and considered their outlook on the snow, she quickly realized that perception is everything.  That though snow and blizzards can bring about some ugly conditions in some circumstances,  they can also bring some awesome moments too. She realized there is beauty in the storm.

I pray this touched your heart today and that you will consider every side of  the situations you find yourself in.  Look for the beauty, if you happen to not be able to find it, look directly to God because He has purpose in everything.

~God Bless U

Proverbs 15

"A soft answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger. 2 The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly, But the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness. 3 The eyes of the Lord are in every place, Keeping watch on the evil and the good. 4 A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, But perverseness in it breaks the spirit."

  Proverbs 15:1-4 (NKJV)                

 

This scripture really came in handy this last week, let me tell you why.  I am enrolled in a biology class this semester with the focus on human sexuality.  The class has been very rewarding in regards to learning different aspects of the body, the changes it goes through, and the different circumstances that effect men and women.  The class is taught by two instructors; one for the biology portion and the other for the psychology portion.  I am now on the psych part, and one of my assignments required me to do a discussion board with the rest of my class on the topic of gender roles and sexual orientation. The instructor wanted to know if I believed a person could choose their sexual orientation (whether they liked men or women or both) and also if it could be proven that people had no choice over the matter, should gay people be able to marry.

 

I hope you've caught on to my dilemma and frustration at this assignment.  I know some of you haven't. I know you're thinking this is a great opportunity to tell my professor and all my classmates what I believe God has to say on the subject.  To retell the account of Sodom and Gomorrah, to talk about the creation of Adam and Eve, and to argue the moral, spiritual, judgment implications the believer knows about this very topic. But, I did not do that.  I believed more than ever it was a time for me to be silent.  And I mean very quiet.  So much so that I had considered taking a 0 for the assignment.

 

I know you are asking the screen why right now, but it is because of this very scripture that I gave the following answer:

"Respectfully, I have no opinion I wish to share at this time."

I did not feel there was anything to profit from answering those questions and I highly suspect that someone in my class would have been offended with my answer. God is wise and he wants us to be wise too.  First of all, it's a science class, so there is a predisposition to believing what you can prove as opposed to my position of faith.  Secondly, I was not ministering to someone at that moment, so there was no need to throw my beliefs all over the place if it would not profit the Kingdom of God to do so.  Moreover, I go back to the scripture about casting your pearls before the swine; the Word of God is very precious to me and I'll never put it out there to be debated or examined just because.  Thirdly, I have a spirit of discernment and I never want to offend who God may allow me to draw one day.  So it a nutshell, now was not the time.

 

This scripture really helped me not to skip the assignment.  I felt God wanted me to give a soft answer and maybe this would help the instructor remove this assignment for future classes and show my classmates that just because you have the opportunity to speak doesn't mean we should always take it. We should always be led by the Spirit (Romans 8:14) and follow peace (Hebrews 12:14) as much as we can.  I pray this helps someone and blesses you real good.

 

 

 

What Are You?...

What are you?... I truly can't get over when  people ask me that question. And it all together saddens me.  In other words they're saying; "what is the difference between us.  What do or don't we have in common.  Are you a Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, Apostolic, Pentecostal, COGIC, etc?"  My question to them is why? Why does it even matter to you?  Will it make you like or love me any less? Or will you decide depending on my answer if I truly love the Lord, if I have enough faith, if I'm real enough, or if you will ever speak to me again?

I know this isn't a popular topic and many will disagree with me.  I'm okay with that though. I am ready to cut beyond the religious tape and get to the meat and potatoes of things.  I don't and I'm sure others don't need the extra.  Our plate is full.  We are mothers, wives, daughters, workers, coaches, husbands, brothers fathers and christians, among the many other hats we wear.  I don't need to have one more title put on me.  I don't believe the christian organization determines right or wrong. ( I am not venturing into Catholisism, Scientology, Muslims, Mormanism, or those others.) Iwant to be clear that I am only speaking about the organizations that cosider Jesus Christ in His full Glory their core belief system. I consider those, different sections of the body of Christ.  We all have one thing in common for sure and I'm sure if you look deep enough a few others also; we love God, we believe that Jesus came and died for our sins, that He is the son of God and that through Him we can obtain eternal salvation.

I don't discount the ways of any of the bodies of Christ listed above.  But my thought is this; know that we are all part of the body and our congregations and those identical to us don't make up the body as a whole.  In other words, one organizations ways are not the only way to go. (whew, I'm in trouble now!, lol)  Are there some very distinct core things you should have under your belt? Yes, there is. But what religious organization you belong to is not one of them.

Here is my point. The word of God says in 1 Corinthians 12: 12-14:

 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.  For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free —and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.  Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. (NIV)

For the sake of a mental picture imagine this. A picture of a body , I call it Christian.  As I start to name my body parts I start with the Head.  I name is Jesus Christ, because the word says He is our head.  But then I label my  left hand - baptist, and my my other hand -apostolic, and my right foot -cogic, and my left foot - methodist, and so on and so on.  We are all one body under the head of Christ, just different parts.  

And I believe that is okay.  I have sat under some of these organizations and I find for the most part no fault with any of them.  Except some in the faith have no tolerance for other organizations that differ in doctrines.  We should have but one doctrine, and that is the doctrine of Christ.  Love, charity, patience, peace, long suffering, righteousness, holiness, sanctification all under our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Those should be the things we live by.  The word of God is true and I believe God never intended us to be so separate in our thinking.

So where do I stand?  I stand with my feet firmly planted in Jesus. I do believe in the Apostolic way, the way the apostles went and the very words in the book of Acts.  I also believe the Methodist.  There is a method to the Christian life, you can not come to God any kind of way. I also believe in the Baptist.  If Jesus was baptized before the people as an outward show of His devotion to the Heavenly Father, then who are we to disagree.  And so on with the other organizations.  But that is as far as I go. 

It doesn't matter to me the doctrine and dogma of others as long as the core principles line up with the Word of God.  We need to have one very important thing in common, no wavering, and no variances:  Jesus Christ!  Not that He was just a prophet, or a very important historical figure, or that He is one of many gods. But that He is the Savior of this world. That He died on Calvary's Cross.  That He Was, and Is, and Is to Come. That He is the One True Living God. That He sits at the right hand of the Father interceding for us, and that He will one day come again and we will reign with Him in Heaven.  That is what I'm about.  I mean people that mean Jesus. And if we have that in common, then God can work out everything else.

I pray this has helped someone.  Let's not get caught up in religion and tradition as the Pharisees and Sadducees did in the days of Jesus.  People are hurting and they are in need of a Savior not our  own opinions and doctrines. We are to introduce them to Jesus and preach the Good News.  He is the only one that can clean us up and put us on the right path.  I would sit with any one of the Christian organizations as long as they had a good solid foundation and the true Word of God was going forth.  That's all it takes. But, I am not a babe in Christ and I can rightly divide the Word for myself.  Many can't and are unsure and  don't know which way to go.  Help them go the way God planned, not how we think they should go.  I have seen people not fellowship or speak to others because they differed in organizations.  But that is wrong, and a trick of the enemy to keep us divided.  

The above scripture goes on to talk about the members of the body not being fully functional  if it was all the same.  This is true for us too.  We may be different parts but we are one body with one Head, again  that is Jesus.  When someone asks you that question; What are you? Your answer should be, A follower of Christ. That is enough!

I pray no one is offended and that my words and thoughts are received in love. That I am a helper to my bretheren.  God Bless you.

Two is Better than One!

Last night for bible study Minister Maxie spoke about two being better than one. I found it so thought provoking and encouraging. When you make the choice to serve God with all your heart, the road can seem long and hard. We experience feelings of loneliness and pressure and find ourselves unsure. But those feelings are meant to draw us closer to God.

It brings you to a place where you depend on Him for the most simple things, like friendship, companionship, love, happiness, and all those things that we look for in the wrong places and  in the wrong people.

God sends people in our lives to encourage us and to help us along the way.  In the book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 4:9-12 reads:

Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken. ~

Thank God that He will send another to bear you up in your time of need or moments of weakness. The Word also tells us to "forsake not ourselves the assembling..." Hebrews 10:25
We are meant to be there for one another,  praying and interceeding for each other, we are meant to uphold each other, and encourage each other. That's why so many scriptures in the bible speak to us ministering one to another and spreading the Gospel together.

Lets be found in the right place with the right people. We can make our trials and tribulations a bit easier if there is a friendly face to encourage us to hold on to promises of the Lord.

I just want to encourage you to get together with your brother or sister in Christ, exalt Him, pray together, worship together, and study together. It is for your strength and encouragement in the faith, that you can grow and be a help to someone else.

~Tell Him thank you! :)