Rubber On The Road  

My friend believes in the benefits of exercise.  Her commitment is stunning; she runs every day, regardless of the weather, the temperature or how busy her life is. She has made a life style commitment because she believes in the benefits of exercise.

We say we ‘believe’ in many things.  The things we really believe in are obvious because our actions reflect that belief.  If we believe traffic is heavy this morning, we leave a few minutes early to allow for the extra time needed to deal with the traffic.

According to recent surveys, 83{03cfc460ee471696895095d15914aa94e2affa08ca8863622c4ab45d0198dbc7} of Americans say, without hesitation, that they believe in the Bible.  Yet, an independent Barna survey taken in 2003 found that 8 out of 10 protestant Christians, by their OWN admission, did not apply the standards of the scripture to their personal lives.   

If ‘we’ truly believe the Bible, then we believe what scripture says; that our choices have consequences.  The Bible says if you don’t receive Christ, you will be eternally lost.  If I really DO believe this, I would be telling my friends, neighbors and loved ones that if they don’t receive Christ, they are destined to spend eternity in Hell (Mark 16:15). 

The Bible says that if we love God, we care about each other.  Do I give generously to the poor and needy, do I visit the sick, encourage the hurting(Matthew 25:31-46)? If I really believe the Bible, I do.  If not, then I must not believe what the Bible says.

According to scripture, there are consequences to both action and inaction (Matt. 25:37-40, Matt. 25:41-46). So, if I believe the Bible yet don’t do as it says, don’t I, in knowledge, choose to rebel against God (James 4:17)?

Believe is an action word.  If I don’t believe something, I do nothing because I don’t see any consequences in my inaction.  If I do believe, I take whatever life action is needed to support my belief because I acknowledge the consequences of doing nothing. 

As I go about my busy day, I must ask myself a question.  DO I believe the Bible?  If so, what am I going to do today as evidence of that belief?

James 1:22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

When we moved into our house, the back fence was covered with beautiful, lush purple blooms! 

Surprisingly, before the summer was over, the fence was laying on the ground, completely destroyed by the vine.

When the repair man came to fix the fence we learned that the destructive vine was wisteria. The fence had been destroyed by something that, on the surface, looked beautiful and desirable.

When in bloom, wisteria has breathtaking cascades of purple flowers. It’s easy to understand how it could be allowed to grow unchecked!  There is no hint of how destructive the vine is beneath the surface beauty.

Satan presents sin the same way.  If we were able to see the end of sin, we would not even be tempted at all.  A master of deception, the father of all lies, satan portrays sin as glamorous, desirable and even profitable.  He does not allow us to see the destructive end result of the indulgence, only the pretty flowers.  (2 Corinthians 11:14)

Thankfully, we don’t have to be taken by satan’s traps; we know his schemes (2 Corinthians 2:11b) The scripture tells us openly and clearly how to recognize sin (Galatians 5:19-21).  Even more, God shows us in his Word how to avoid sin (Romans 13:8-14). 

We are all tempted; even Jesus was tempted, but was without sin (Matt. 4:1-11). Sin begins when we choose to accept the temptation. James 1:13-15 reveals that God does not tempt us; we are tempted when our own lusts lead us astray!  

No matter how lovely, enticing and persuasive temptation is, God makes a way, through His Spirit, to avoid getting snared (I Corinthians 10:12-13).

James 1:2-4 reveals that enduring the test of temptation makes us strong.  James 1:12 says that we are blessed when we persevere in our faith when tested and don’t give in.

Even if we DO stumble, God has made a way to get up, clean up and continue on (Proverbs 24:16, I John 1:9) It is only when we CHOOSE to continue in sin (Romans 6 {all} that we allow the sin to consume us, shutting off the light of Christ.

I Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

In Children’s Church one year, as part of an activity for Mother’s Day, we asked all the children a question, “What’s the most important thing your mommy does?” 

The answers were age significant; children ages 6-8 said, “do stuff for me.”  Ages 9-11 said, “do stuff with me.”  It was interesting to note the change from “for” to “with” as adolescence began.

As a Mom, the most important thing I can do for and with my children is to live a Christ centered life. Christianity is more than something I “do;” it is a way of life that comes naturally because of a relationship that I have.  Without the intimacy of relationship with Jesus, Christianity is just another religion fraught with rules. 

When we make rules that we ourselves, as parents, don’t follow, young hearts aren’t influenced; they’re hardened.  Everything we do, think and say should reflect the principals Christ taught. “Mom Ministry” lays the groundwork that Godly lives are built on.  Taking our children with us to church is important; but, Jesus loving and teaching through us when we go home has a far greater influence.  

Having a mom that takes an active part with school activities, social events and sports is important to kids.  But the most important thing we can do with our kids is live the Christ life. What we do speaks much more loudly than what we say.  

Sunday School teachers, Youth Pastors and Ministers will all have influence on our child’s life.  But, the sermon that has more influence than any other is the life that is lived by “mom.” What is the Gospel according to YOU? 

Proverbs 22:6 Train a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not turn from it.

Prayer:  Father, help me to represent you in my home. I want the Holy Spirit to direct my actions and thoughts. Remind me to pray over every chore and activity that I do that your love would be seen through me. Amen 

The MISSING PIECE

John 15:14-16:

Have you ever put together a jigsaw puzzle? Every piece is vital to the whole. If one piece is missing, the puzzle isn’t completed. We can’t take a piece from some other puzzle and use it to take the place of the missing piece. Only the piece intended for that puzzle will complete the picture.

Life is like a puzzle. A lot of different pieces fit together to make our life “picture.” No matter how perfect our life seems to come together, when we are missing the “God piece.” the picture is not complete. Christ is the only piece that will make our life picture whole.

We were created for relationship with God. (Romans 8:14-15) When we try to borrow “pieces” to fill that relationship need; activities, going to parties and spending lots of money, nothing “fits” in that hole. Only Jesus can make our life complete.

The Church is also made up of pieces; each piece as important as all the others. When any one piece is missing, the church lacks unity and mission. Christ is the center piece that keeps the church together to do the work He has set us to do. (1Corinthians 12:12-27) Only Jesus can bring the body of Christ together and make us effective.

Both in individual lives and in the church, a personal, intimate relationship with our Lord is established the same way any relationship is made; by spending time together.   If it feels like something is missing, in your life, or your church, take time; make time to know Jesus intimately. (Psalms 100:2-3)  Read His Word, talk to Him, and worship Him.

John 15:14-16: You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.

Prayer: Father, when I have days when nothing seems to fit and I feel lost; help me to remember that when I put you first, the pieces come together. I love you, thank you for planning my life so that all things will work together, for my good.

Scriptural References:

Romans 8:14-15 “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are THE SONS OF GOD, For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but you have received the Spirit of adoption, by which we cry, ABBA, FATHER”.

1Corinthians 12:12-27 “For as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For the body is not one member, but many … And the eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you; nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you … the members should have the same care one for another … Now you are the BODY OF CHRIST, and members in particular”

Psalms 100:2-3 Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

While at the zoo, my grandson, Quinlan, told me all about lions.    

The lion only gets involved in the hunt when the prey is too large for the lionesses to bring down. 

Those who hunt lions say that a lion roars from a distance, arrogantly letting his prey know that he’s on the hunt— and you’re on the menu. The Apostle, Peter, compared satan to a roaring lion looking to see who he can devour. 

Like the stalking lion, satan thinks he has us cornered. Satan can NOT make us sin. But, he does know our weaknesses and he hopes that we don’t know how to defend ourselves. The scripture says to be self-controlled and alert; we are led aside and tempted by our own flesh. (James 1: 12-15)   

When we hold all of our attitudes and actions up before the revealing light of God’s Word, we are far less likely to fall to temptation. “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” (I Corinthians 10:13) 

Satan has no power over us that we don’t allow him to take. Sin has no levels, all sin, whether little or big, separates us from God’s presence. When we are faithful to read God’s Word, we know satan’s tricks. (II Corinthians 2:10-11) No matter how fiercely satan roars: his ability to devour us is determined by our willingness to cooperate with his temptations!  Refuse to be lunch meat for the devil.   

I Peter 5:8-9 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

Got Fire?

2 Timothy 1:6-7

There was a young man in my Sunday School Class that kept me on my face before God. Mercy! In prayer, I would cry and beg God to take the fire OUT of this child!

Then, one day, God spoke to me. He told me He would NOT take the fire from this boy! He had been the one who gave him that fire and it had a purpose!

God showed me that, when put to proper use, fire can work for good.  It can be used to burn hot against sin and to ignite the “ordinary” into flames of passion.  Jeremiah 20:9 says the prophet was persecuted for speaking for God but he could not stop because it was a fire in his bones.

When used as God intended, this boy would have the guts to witness at the very gates of Hell and wrestle with the devil till victory was had.  He had the strength and persistence to become a mighty man of God!

OR he could use that fire to rebel against authority, burn up everything good, and ruin his own life and the lives of those around him. If he chose wrongly, his fire would leave everything he touched a pile of ashes. He had the choice to do great things for God OR the devil–the choice would be his.

God told me to pray this boy would choose to serve God. I began to do so with great fervor and faithfulness. I told “Fred” what God had told me, about how he, Fred, had a choice to make and that I would be praying for him. Fred was 12 years old.

Fred’s family moved to another state about a year later; at that time, the battle was still raging. Then, one day, I knew in my heart that the time for prayer was over, the choice had been made. I still prayed for him now and then after that, but soon, the burden was gone entirely.

I have no idea if “Fred” chose Christ or not. My heart hopes that, someday, in heaven, a mighty man of God will walk up to me and say, “I chose God, Miss Annie, I CHOSE to burn hot for Jesus!”

When that “fire” is seen in proper perspective, through the eyes of the Spirit, there is an individual choice; to rebel against sin or rebel against God. As parents, grandparents, teachers and leaders, it is our responsibility to have discernment and pray that when the choice is made, that fire will burn hot for Jesus.

2 Timothy 1:6-7 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline

Prayer:  Lord Jesus, help me to be patient with hearts that are fighting a battle. Show me words to say and actions to take that will encourage a struggling heart to choose you instead of the world. Make me a source of direction, a strong hold in prayer and a revealer of truth through your Word and your Spirit. Thank you. Amen.

Scriptural References:

Jeremiah 20:9 But if I say, “I will not mention him or speak any more in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.

Life is busy, when I’m doing one thing, I’m thinking about what else needs to be done! 

I know satan wants to keep me from developing a personal relationship with the Lord. 

The tool for his plan is busyness. To defeat his plan, I’ve determined that I WILL, regardless of circumstances, spend time with my Lord daily.  Period.  

No longer will, ‘spend more time with God’ be on my list of things I should do.  Never again will my last thought before falling asleep be, “I’m sorry Lord, I’m so tired, tomorrow, I promise I’ll make time to talk with you.” (I John 4:4) 

My new attitude is, if I was “this” busy; would I cancel a dentist appointment?  Would I cancel a lunch date with my best friend?  If my answer is, “no,” then I will not cancel my planned quiet time with the Lord.  

Satan knows that being busy is likely to disrupt my plan and he focuses on that weakness. Now, that I realize that all this ‘busyness’ is keeping me from building a relationship with Jesus, I can realign my priorities. (Matt. 6;33)  

No more, “I’ll pray while I drive”. Everything else, I assign a specific ‘time’ for and apply discipline as necessary to accomplish the task.  It is only prayer that gets easily set to the side and left unattended.  

The Bible says the relationship between a (married) man and a woman represents our relationship with Christ.  Actually, it is the ONLY example God gave to illustrate that relationship. (Ephesians 5:21-32) Using the intimacy of marriage as a standard; intimacy with my Lord should be equally “uninterruptable”. 

I need to make whatever lifestyle or schedule adjusting it takes to make my plan a reality.  Like I tell my teenagers, you can’t just decide to do something, you have to choose to put sweat with the decision and move it out of your mind to your lifestyle. “Want to” and “doing it” are two different actions.  James 4:17 says, “Anyone then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.” 

Because of “busyness”, I’ve  made the one who loves me so much He suffered and died so I could come to him face up–just another item on my long list of daily chores. But, now that I see my weakness with ‘busyness’, that ‘tool’ will no longer work. I’m not just planning a time for intimacy with my Lord; I’m actively carrying out that plan.   

Jeremiah 29: 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Easter is a special family time; going to church together and having everyone over for dinner.  It’s a time for photo taking and memories. Who doesn’t have a photo of ‘me’ with ‘my’ Easter basket? And of course there is always the picture of you or your sibling or cousin with chocolate smeared all over their face. And everybody knows you eat a chocolate bunny– ears first.

Easter is an important family time for God too. It was the day that His plan for restoring relationship with His children would be completed. (Galatians 4:3-6) It was the culmination of a plan that had been made since the beginning of time.  (II Timothy 1:9-10)

Every action of the crucifixion had specific reference and meaning for the complete eternal atonement of sin. The death and resurrection of our Savior was not forced on Him. As Jesus willingly hung dying on the cross, His last words were, “It is finished!”

Paying the blood price for our sins was the payment that had to be made for our restoration as the children of God.  (Galatians 4:7)  This is how great God’s love for “me” is, that He willingly gave His only son so that “I” could have intimacy with Him.  (John 3:16)

Easter isn’t about an event, it isn’t only about forgiveness of sin. It’s about a plan that spans eternity to restore a relationship that had been lost.  (Romans 5:8) Jesus gave His life, the perfect sacrifice, so that we could know God personally. Our sins forgiven, we can once more have fellowship with Him.

Christianity isn’t a religion, it’s a relationship.

I Peter 3:18 (a)  For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, thank you for the blood of your son, Jesus, so that my sins could be washed away; I accept your forgiveness of my sins. Help me to always remember the great love you poured out at Calvary so that I could be your child.  I love you, thank you for loving me. Amen.

Scripture References:

 Galatians 4:3-6 (ISV)  ³ It was the same way with us. While we were children, we were slaves to the basic principles of the world.^[a] 4 But when the appropriate time had come, God sent his Son, born by a woman, born under the Law, ⁵ in order to redeem those who were under the Law, and thus to adopt them as his children. ⁶ Now because you are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our^[b] hearts to cry out, “Abba!^[c] Father!”

II Timothy 1:9-10 (NIV) ⁹ He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, ¹⁰ but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

 Galatians 4: 7 (NIV) ⁷ So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.

John 3:16 (NIV) ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Romans 5:8 (NIV) ⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

My toddler grandson spent the day with me. I was trying to get my make up on while paying attention to him bouncing on my bed–. Finally, I got all my STUFF on.

As I was getting in the car, Zack said, “MAMAW—you have fish lips!”   I buckled his seat belt and said, “YOU are silly!”  And off we went to the mall.   

All afternoon, sales clerks kept giving me, odd looks.  Sort of, faltering when they spoke to me, watching me in an inquiring way.  Done with shopping, I got back to the car; got Zac buckled in and glanced in my rearview mirror.  To my horror, I saw that I had lined my lips with emerald green EYELINER!  Zack had been right.  I had “fish lips”! 

To the world, we look different, even weird, like we have green fish lips or something. Actually, we are a chosen people. We are chosen, by God, to represent Christ.

Like the store clerks watching me, the world watches us. They watch how we handle difficult circumstances; how we respond to temptation and hard times.  They marvel at our calm and peaceful spirit in the storms of life.  

It’s very important that we stay close to the Lord through Bible reading and prayer. The world is watching and they see the strength of Christ in our lives. 

Most importantly, we need the inner peace only Christ can give to sustain us through the hard times.  Seek Him when life is hard and not fair so you can stand strong–and  be confident.  

I Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

My grandson is at that age where everything is a question. Every answer I give in response to his question he counters with, “But—“.  Our lives are full of ‘buts’.  Every thing we do has consequences, whether good or evil. 

Thankfully, God also has “buts”, because sometimes I can mess up pretty bad! About the time satan thinks he has taken me down, God interrupts with,“but”.   

As benign as they seem, “But God” has to be two of the most important words in the scripture. The next time you think you can’t make it, can’t get over it, can’t work with it, can’t do without it, remember, “But God”.   

“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) 

“But God is rich in mercy” (Eph. 2:4) 

“You meant evil against me but God meant it for good.” (Genesis 50:20) 

“–The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart.” (I Samuel 16:7b) 

God created us for relationship, sin entered the picture BUT God sent His only son to die for our sins (John 3:16) so we can once again, have relationship.  No matter what satan’s tricks to ruin our relationship, he can not succeed—unless we let him.

The next time you find yourself in an impossible situation, pause for a moment, God has a “but” to change things around in your favor.  It sometimes takes awhile for us to realize it, BUT God has made a way.