He Is Forever Faithful

I have an entire list of things from the Bible that I wish to NEVER hear the Lord say to me. Along with Matthew 7:21-23 when the Lord says, "......depart from me you worker of iniquity. I never knew you....", the following passage is right up there at the top of that list:   The passage (Matthew 23:27) reads like this in the New King James:   “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness."   In The Message it reads:   "You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You’re like manicured grave plots, grass clipped and the flowers bright, but six feet down it’s all rotting bones and worm-eaten flesh. People look at you and think you’re saints, but beneath the skin you’re total frauds."   I have been pondering this verse as of late for many reasons and have had some life experiences ...

Have you ever felt unimportant? Have you ever felt insignificant? Have you ever felt as if you didn't matter? If you have not, count yourself extremely fortunate. Most of us can so clearly identify with feelings of inadequacy and insufficiency. Contrary to our feelings, God places great value on us. He sacrificed it all just to reconcile us back to Himself. The Bible likens us to a valuable lost coin and so important that everything else ceases until we are found and returned to Him. (Luke 15:8-10) We are also compared to lost sheep (one among many) and the Shepherd leaves the 99 sheep to come after just one of us because we are THAT important to Him. (Luke 15:3-7) I would be remiss if I did not balance out this encouraging post with a healthy dose of humility. We live in a society filled with narcissism where all the focus is on self. "Do what feels good." "Look out for number one." "I, I, I." "Me, me, me." As a result, we have a gen...

I have never proclaimed to be a poet nor the daughter of a poet. In fact, I have never written a poem in my life. However, throughout this week during my quiet time I had phrases and poetic "lines" coming to mind. I began to journal those thoughts and this is what they yielded: SWEETLY BROKEN: Well acquainted with heartache, calling loneliness her friend Under the weight of abuse and betrayal she’d bend Cruelty and violence were visiting kin While mistreatment and insults clothed her skin Where could she turn, who would understand? Is there one who would lovingly offer their hand? Secrets so plentiful and pain that abounds, She found it much safer to quietly drown No solace to be found neither day nor night; Her memories torment and fill her with fright Year after year she resolved this was her life, Convinced she was destined to be companioned to strife She embraced self-loathing and shame like lovers And dreamed of the day this life would be over Greetin...

As Christians we have been taught that if we just put the correct boundaries in place (have a mentor, limit where we go, guard what we watch, be cautious whom we befriend), read the Bible and pray every day, etc. then we will be empowered to live victorious lives, free from choosing sin. But, I disagree with this school of thought. I am not saying these practices are bad, but I have seen in my lifetime many that put these safeguards in place and in spite of it all, still continually fall into deliberate repeated sin. I am convinced; the only way to live life victorious over sin is through a heart transformation. Once our desires align with an unquenchable thirst to please the Lord, then we alter our choices, we walk differently and talk differently. Christianity is not a set of rules and regulations, it’s a relationship with Christ, and just like we do not purposely behave in a way that hurts the hearts of our friends and family whom we love deeply, so too, we do not make choices tha...

Those of you that know me, know that the Lord very often speaks to me in analogies and illustrations. I find it so endearing that the One who made me would obviously know the most beneficial way to speak to my heart. With that premise, I share what I was meditating on last night and this morning. I envisioned the process for baking a cake. Fetching the recipe. Purchasing all the necessary ingredients.  Gathering all those ingredients and utensils together to begin the process.       There is a chocolate cake that I make very often that most people love. I don't even have to look at the recipe anymore because I have the recipe embedded in my mind. Now, picture this, you've done all the footwork for this delicious cake but you stand and stare at the recipe. You stare at all the ingredients. You think about all the hard work you've already put into making this wonderful cake. You spend hours memorizing the steps and the ingredients.  ...

My daughter recently mentioned the importance of maintaining a healthy "balance" when it comes to our Christian walk. We must have a good balance of studying the Word, prayer and fellowship, all of which fall under the umbrella of worship. Our entire lives are symbolic of our worship unto the Lord. All that we do should reflect our worship unto Him. As I meditated about this concept of balance, I was reminded of a gymnast and how often on the balance beam or before an extended display of acrobatics, the gymnast will focus intently, specifically and deliberately on one visual point. I even remember using this "technique" when delivering my children. I was taught to pick a focal point in the delivery room as I engaged in the labor and delivery facilitation. Once this focal point is selected, the individual can then clear their mind of everything else and prepare for the task ahead.   If we are going to maintain healthy, balanced spiritual lives our f...

  On Sunday morning I found myself running a little behind schedule for church. However, the blouse I wanted to wear had fallen off the hanger in the closet and was a wrinkled ball of mess and needed ironing. As I ironed it I remembered years ago one of my sons telling me as I ironed his shirt that he was in a hurry and I should just iron the front as he was wearing a jacket and the front was all anyone would see. The Lord really spoke to my heart through this as He often does through everyday life and analogies. I simply could not iron only the part of my blouse that would be seen by others because I knew the other areas were a wrinkled mess. It would bother me that the rest of the blouse was not ironed even though others could not see it. Lord, let this be my heart's cry about my inward man as much as it is my outward man. May my heart not be satisfied in sin or in continual struggle even when others cannot see it. May my heart grieve at what grieves Yours. ...

Recently I was reflecting on how fortunate nature is. I mean think about it. The wind, the waves, they obey the Lord always because they have no free will. The stars, the sun, the moon, they perform on cue. The rocks, the animals and insects, they worship the Lord in unison. How I wished I would obey ALWAYS, worship ALWAYS but then I realized what would I offer the Lord if I had no free will? What sacrifice would I lay at His feet. What gift would I have to offer? I realize, friend, that living out our faith can be a struggle sometimes but we have the wonderful gift of free will and with it we can bless the Lord. We can make Godly choices and give a sacrifice to the Lord that no other creation in heaven or on earth can offer Him. He longs for us to make choices that align with His perfect design. I was counseling a friend the other day that was struggling trusting the Lord in a certain area of her life and I shared with her that sometimes we don't have the whole picture. We don...

With recent innovation of electronic devices such as "Nooks, E-Readers" etc. I was talking with a friend the other day and we were agreeing, as I'm sure many others would, that there's just something about reading a BOOK, the feel of the pages, picturing where a particular passage that "hit" you is positioned on the page, the durability, mobility and flexibility of an actual book. After all, when reading a book, one is not dependent on "signal" or "battery charge". My Pastor's wife hit the nail on the head one time when she mentioned how much she loves her Bible. Yes, you can download the Bible on your I-Phone or Droid and look up passages in any version imaginable on electronic devices but it's just not the same. I agree with her 100%.  This line of thought got me to remembering how a new book has a certain smell that a reader loves and old books are treasures,works of art that have a mysterious beauty about them. As we emb...

I was listening to K-Love on my way to work the other day and the DJ was talking to a dad about his best Christmas gift this year. The dad was sharing that his 5 year old little girl, Chloe, was undergoing her final Chemo treatment that morning. He shared how she had been diagnosed with Leukemia when she was only 2 years old. As soon as they learned the diagnosis, they followed the Bible's instructions and brought little Chloe to the elders of the church who in turn anointed and prayed for her. Within weeks the doctors declared that Chloe's tests had shown her cancer-free. However, the parents followed the instructions of the doctors to follow through with treatment to prevent any possible advancement of the underlying disease.  This dad went on to say how the advancement of modern medicine is amazing. The things they can do to combat disease are incredible. However, he said, prayer is still the fixer. This comment stuck in my heart all day long. Prayer is still the fixer...