You May Not Agree with Me

“You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.” (Genesis 4:7-8)

Iowa passed a law allowing same-sex marriage last week. I was not surprised at all. I expected the ruling to go down that way and a part of me is really struggling because I agree with it. Yes, me, the Bible-loving, God fearing, praying, joyful, Christian that I am is very torn because the legal rules, separation of church and state, side of me sees the point. I chose my faith. I chose to follow God and His ways and His design for life, marriage, love, and everything outside and in between. Although I will tell you to get involved in politics, go to meetings, vote as often as you can so that people we want to represent us are in office I do not believe that our Christian disciplines should be forced on anyone.

I know that a homosexual lifestyle is not what I teach my children and it’s not what I want for my children, I can be honest about that. However, I know if one of my children chose that I would still love them and still have them over for dinner. (Why dinner is sticking out in my mind I don’t know.) Then I think of God. He not only loves my gay child but also loves his or her partner, so I would invite that person over for dinner. My children would get a taste of the unconditional love the Father has for us through me even knowing that I don’t approve of their life style. Punishment for sin, and separation from God, is not something I have the right to dish out. And that gay child, believing with all of their heart that Jesus died for his or her sins, has a place in Heaven. There are sins that I struggle with daily that weigh no more than any other sin. The best I believe we can do is strive to live the life that God has planned for us and shine Jesus’ light for the world to see.

The state determining who can be legally united does not diminish the sanctity of marriage. The sanctity of marriage is what WE make of it and how we help other find the beauty in what God originally designed for us. Look at what heterosexual marriages have brought into our society over the last 50 years. When it comes to defending the sanctity of marriage, traditional marriages haven’t done such a great job of being the leaders in good marriages and monogamy in our country today. If we seriously want to make a difference in the world it has to start in our own marriages and then we have to learn to love the way God loves. I cannot stress enough how badly I mess up everyday and every time I go to the cross He forgives me. His example is excellent and perfect. So, you may not agree with me (I am not sure I do) but I just think that God has better ways for us to reach out and in than to verbally or legally attack people whose lifestyles are different than ours and I am sure there is a line there too….

“So the trouble is not with the laws, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good.” (Romans 7:14-16)

I want to Live a Verb

“I love you, Lord; you are my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection.” (Psalm 18:1-2a)

 

I am a nerd. Actually, I am the nerd of my entire family. Being a nerd I like schedules, budgets, numbers, and routines. However, I don’t do so well with commands and rules because I am also defiant and a little mischievous (go figure). For example: I like to wake up in the morning to pray and read my Bible. I don’t read my Bible and pray because God commands it though. I do those things because I love the Lord and I want to know Him better. I love going to service on Sundays. I don’t go because it’s the law but I go because it’s incredible to worship the God of the universe and be surrounded by so many people who are in love with Him as well. I enjoy teaching and serving on Wednesday nights but it’s not because Jesus requires acts of service. I go in to my classroom on Wednesdays because I want to encourage a great group of awesome kids to be excited and in love with Jesus.

 

I want to live the verb of being in love with Jesus. I want my faith to be moving and living. I never want to sit down for a second.

 

+        I want to reach out into the community

+        I want to love the people in my life unconditionally

+        I want to give and then give some more

+        I want to trust and know that I am free

+        I want to be a good wife, mother, daughter, and friend

+        I want to live running and basking and all these things with God in the center of me because I love my Lord….because I love Jesus.

 

I want to bring God with me everywhere I go. Sometimes I leave Him here in this seat after I get done with devotions and for that I feel terrible. He doesn’t want just my mornings. Our Lord wants our everything and I want to give it to Him. I have let go of me and let God in and some days that is hard.  Walk with me, please, as I endure this challenge not because of some rule or ritual but because of  love and devotion to our Father.

 

“Praise the Lord! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. Let us be glad and rejoice, and let us give honor to him.” (Revelations 19:6a-7a)

Embarrassingly Naked

“I tried to relieve your fears: ‘Don’t be terrified of them. God, your God, is leading the way; he’s fighting for you. You saw with your own eyes what he did for you in Egypt; you saw what he did in the wilderness, how God, your God, carried you as a father carries a child, carried you the whole way until you arrived here. But now that you’re here, you won’t trust God, your God—‘” (Deuteronomy 1:29-31 The Message)

 

I am overwhelmed with family. I am overwhelmed with school. I am overwhelmed with a special needs child. I am overwhelmed trying to be the wife and mother I am called to be. I am overwhelmed with busyness but then overwhelmed when I can’t think of what to do. I am overwhelmed trying to be healthy and lose weight. I am overwhelmed with our finances. I am overwhelmed trying to keep a house and I am overwhelmed trying to keep my faith in line when there are days when it feels like the balls I so precariously juggle are bouncing down the road and I am overwhelmed keeping chasing them down. And what is it again that I try to teach over and over again? I shout out constantly that God is good, when we hand everything over to God we will find peace, and (my favorite) God has a beautiful and perfect plan. Once again it is easier said than done.

 

With all that you may find it incredible that I have peace and reassurance in my faith. In spite of being terribly overwhelmed, some days anyway, I can usually go with the flow fairly well. God has found ways to remind me that I am where I am and, honestly, I couldn’t and wouldn’t change a thing. I love my husband and so I love being his wife. I adore my children and so even the hard days are a joy. I love accounting so work is a reward. I believe I am a student by nature and so school is something I look forward to. And, as far as the juggling….I have never been very good at balance so it’s no wonder that I drop the ball quite often.

 

My point is that everything is about perspective. Yes, I will be the first to admit that there is a lot going on but we have a home, we have food, we have power, we have jobs, we are healthy, and we have an amazing family and circle of friends. God is good. In the chaos of it all I take a big deep breath in and I breath out and I put one foot in front of the other and I smile because, even on the cloudiest day, I am still standing in the Sun.

 

“Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress and honor come from God alone. He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me. O my people, trust in him at all times. Pour out your hear to him, for God is our refuge.” (Psalm 62:5-8)

Your Red Sea

“The Moses raised his hand over the sea, and the Lord opened up a path through the water with a strong east wind. The wind blew all that night, turning the seabed into try land. So the people of Israel walked through the middle of the sea on dry land, with walls of water on each side!” (Exodus 14:21-22)

 

I was walking with my brother-in-law to McDonalds®. My sister had finally been placed in a room after her stroke and everyone else had left. Troy and I were hungry and ironically enough, a renowned heart hospital has McDonalds® on its ground floor. On our way down I told him that I would have the entire state of Iowa praying by the end of the night, that I would have friends across the country praying and even prayers being lifted from England by the next day. On the short walk down he mentioned that he had thought about getting back to church. He had been thinking life would get easier if they were going to church. I couldn’t help it. I laughed out loud. I said that is the inside joke of Christianity. For some reason the people looking in think that Christians have this easy cake-like life. However, the reality is life gets harder when you decide to walk the narrow path. It was then he remembered doing an alter call in his teens. “It was like as soon as I did that the girls flew down on me.”

 

God brought the Israelites to a new destination in an incredible way. They may have been free from 400 years of slavery but that didn’t mean that the rest of their lives were a picture of leisure and ease. It was hard. It was long. Many didn’t make it through. It brings me to the testimony I am giving this weekend. I had an amazing experience, a God-moment if you will, and I was refreshed, renewed, on fire, and alive in a totally new way (that is the jest testimony if you aren’t going to make it to church this weekend). I kid-you-not, within two days my world was crashing around me. I was on my knees and I didn’t know how I was going to get through.

 

We all have some sort of Red Sea in our lives. It’s that moment when we are walking with God and we reach a point where it seems impossible to break through or cross over. God is telling us to trust Him and to put one foot in front of the other and know that He will provide the dry ground. His Word is our staff and our church family, friends, loved ones, prayers, the sermons we hear, missions we are involved in, and circles we live in are His pillar of fire and smoke guiding us and pulling us forward. We know that He will always bring us through. We may not understand it. We may not see it. But we know that our Heavenly Father loves us and will us guide us Home.

 

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

Crossing the Line

“But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”

 

When I first wanted to start coming to church it wasn’t because I had some huge desire to have a personal relationship with Jesus. Goodness, I didn’t even know what that meant. I thought it was what good people did. The “good” people took their families to church on Sundays and had their children in Sunday school classes. When we started coming, as sporadic as that was, I had no clue what the pastor guy was talking about but I liked the music. It was Easter, and I was 23, that day I realized that all these people weren’t talking about bunnies but instead talking about Jesus dying. I knew He had died but didn’t know all that other stuff. And, therein, lays the beginning of my faith walk.

 

I was excited for my new found faith, I was full of zest, and I was probably really annoying. But you know when you love something and get all excited it’s hard not to talk about it. Then, being the nerd that I was and am, I started soaking. I soaked in the Bible, I took classes when I could (the kids were really small), I read articles, did research, read studies and books, I made friends and tried to make huge lifestyle changes. I slipped a lot. I was wrong a lot. I was arrogant at times and proud at others. God had to break me several times through life’s circumstance to bring to where I am today. Unfortunately, I am sure the work isn’t done yet!

 

I can remember the very moment I crossed the line from a person seeking to a person filled with faith. However, this life isn’t always easy. Good things don’t just blossom in my front yard because Jesus is my friend. I struggle the same as anyone else. I have really great days and I have really crappy days. There are things that happen that I don’t understand and there are things about this world that make me so angry. There are things I love about my life and things that I can’t explain about the beauty of this world. The biggest difference between me then and me now, besides eternal salvation, is hope. I don’t see the circumstances of today as an end or a cause but the beginning and a gateway. I crossed that invisible line of faith and I found hope, what did you find?

 

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiahs 29:11)

Couch Cushion

“Since we have been united with him in death, we will also be raised to life as he was. We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin.” (Romans 6:5-6)

 

I have to thank biblestudypodcasts.org for helping me find a verse for this morning. There is nothing like having an idea of what to write, knowing that there are verses, but not knowing where to find them. Biblestudypodcasts.org  is an excellent podcast that dives deeper into God’s Word, helping people understand the nature of God and how to apply Biblical principles to our lives today. Besides, what is so amazing is that I am visiting on a topic today that the host, Toby, has been speaking about for a while now: sin. So, it’s all good.

 

I have discovered something really neat about my couch. See, we don’t have a well placed table in our living room for me to be able to sit here and work and have my coffee close by. One night I decided to try an experiment. The cushions of this couch are not connected to each other. I had myself on one of the cushions and texts books piled up on the other. So, I thought I would try to put my coffee on a closed text book and see what happens. The cup, I believed I used a commuter mug for safety reasons, balanced quite easily. I did a tiny little wiggle on my side of the couch to see if the coffee reacted and there was nothing. So, I did a little bounce; nothing. Then I kind of hopped up and down in my seat (must have looked interesting) and still nothing. I can do all kinds of things in this seat and my coffee will stay right in place on the other cushion. I ended that evening quite proud of myself and felt like I was getting away with something sneaky.

 

But our lives cannot work the same way. There are times when we may feel like we have two different cushions we live on: the world and church. However, we don’t. We can’t bounce back and forth between worldly things and godly things. We have to understand that everything around us is God’s sanctuary and that the people are His church. The expectations that He has do not go into effect only when we are in the doors of a church building. We have to learn to comfortable in our faith skin and realize how full life is and that, choosing to walk this path, doesn’t mean you will or will not enjoy life as much as the next person. However, it does mean that you will be able to find joy and hope in everything. It means that you will never walk alone. It means that you know the end of the story and the author of Creation.

 

Stop trying to make two different worlds go together. Balancing coffee on a text book is a lot easier than trying to balance two different worlds within one person. Turn to God and let Him guide you and you will find your balance.

 

“Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life.  So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under freedom of God’s grace.” (Romans 6:12-14)

Doing Everything Wrong

“He seized the dragon—that old serpent, who is the devil, Satan—and abound him in chains for a thousand years. The angel threw him into the bottomless pit, which he then shut and locked so Satan could not deceive the nations anymore until the thousand years were finished.” (Revelations 20:2-3a)

 

I spent most of yesterday afternoon at the hospital with my sisters. The middle of the three of us had to be admitted. She had some bleeding on her brain that has stopped. However, it has caused her to struggle with her speech and some of her motor skills on her right side. They will be running more tests on her this morning to determine what happened and how to fix it. I was, of course, panicked when I got the phone call but a very good friend talked me through it. Then on the way home I was sad to leave her. Finally, as I am sure my body was completely drained of energy from the day, I realized how lucky we were that she was still alive and I spent the rest of the evening near, or at, tears. I went to bed, and then woke up, very thankful that I get to call her and visit her today….again, on the brink of tears.

 

I feel like I am doing everything wrong lately. I spend lots of my time eating too much, not sleeping enough, being stressed, worrying too much, and being angry too much. It sounds weird just typing that out because, on the other hand, I have been trying to focus on God, filled with adoration for Him, and loving seeing Jesus in so much of my everyday. There are obviously two sides of me at conflict right now and when I realize this I get even angrier because I know how it all ends. Jesus wins. We win. The devil, and all the fallen things of this world, will lose! We know the end of the story. Satan knows the end of the story. So, why then, do have moments when we struggle with direction, with life, and with our emotions and choices. God has simplified everything so well but I continue to make it so hard.

 

I was reminded yesterday of what a sweet gift God has given us with our loved ones and I don’t want to waste any of the time I have with the people in my life or the job that God has given me. It’s hard to walk in the Light when you carry too much on your back, and I have been carrying too much on my back. My prayer today is that I will start handing over my worries, my eating, my sleeping, and my stress to God and let Him carry them. He is much better at carrying that kind of stuff than me anyway. And we need to remember that we can chose to live in the struggles of this world or we can choose to live in the victory that we know is Christ Jesus. I want to choose victory!

 

“I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light. The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the world will enter the city in all their glory. Its gates will never be closed at the end of the day because there is no night there. And all the nations will bring their glory and honor into the city. Nothing evil will be allowed to enter, nor anyone who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty—-but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.” (Revelations 21:22-27)

 

I got that…maybe not

“Of course, your former friends are surprised when you no longer plunge into the flood of wild and destructive things they do.” (1 Peter 4:4)

 

There were many passages I read this morning that really caused me to pause and ask: Do I get it? How is it that 2,000 years ago that people were going through the same things as we do today. I haven’t had any issues with former friends the way others I know have but there are other things that I can relate to and, yet still, other things I wish I felt I understood better.

 

Like 1 Peter 4:12 “Dear friends, don’t be surprised at that fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange is happening to you.” I got that. Our salvation does not keep us from life’s trials and we can use them to become stronger for God. I will honestly say I don’t like the trials and since I seem to go through the same trial over and over again I feel as though I am either not learning what He is trying to show me or that He is building me up for something.

 

2 Peter 2:19b “For you are a slave to whatever controls you.” This one sucks. There is no one person I feel that controls me. However, there are times when I feel out of control and I can’t seem to turn on my self-control button. The Bible says the Spirit gives us self-control, I just haven’t done a very good job of figuring out where it is. Consequently, there are days when I feel like I am a slave to my lack of self-control when I would much rather feel like a slave to God, whom I gladly serve.

 

1 John 1:9 “but if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” If we confess all our sins but forget one, I mean honestly forget, are we not truly forgiven. Once we accept Jesus into our hearts and are saved does that mean past, present, and future sins are forgiven by default? What if you die before you have a chance to confess a sin? Does it make a difference if that sin was by ‘accident” or if it was deliberate?

 

I imagine many of my questions, and some days there are more than others, won’t be answered while I breathe on this earth. Sometimes there are probably only questions that can be answered by God Himself, or questions we will most definitely see on the other side of Heaven. I am okay with not knowing all the answers though. Having a direct answer to any of my questions does not help decide if I have faith or not. I am pretty sure I had even more questions the day I stepped over that line into faith and belief. This morning I am just glad that God took the time to make sure His Word spoke to me, right where I am, this very moment in time, telling me He knows and He loves. Those are the only answers I really need.

 

“This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” (1 John 4:10)

Snow Day!

“For you know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night.” (1 Thessalonians 5:2)

 

It’s a snow day today and there is no school. Children of all ages, including some very grown up people I know, wait and pray for a day like this. All this past week I could tell that my children’s teachers were hoping for a snow day this week because they sent the kids home every night anticipating the next day to be one (this was actually really annoying). Ah, but behold! We have 1/10” of ice under 2” of sleet under 2-4” of snow. Snow day! Great joy will fill the house as my little babes wake up one by one and realize their great fortune.  The joy will be reversed, however, when the school year gets extended out an extra day and they realize that they could have made their first trip to the pool but instead they are sitting in hot sticky classrooms.

 

People have been waiting for the day when Jesus raptures His children for thousands of years now. I can honestly say that I fully anticipate this day to come every day and I want to be ready. My children have their hats, mittens, games, and anything else they need ready to enjoy this much anticipated day of no school. It’s easier, and not so easy, to be ready for the Lord to come. For me it is a process of learning to not cling to things of this earth. It is a process of loving the people in my life but realizing I could never love them as much as Jesus. It’s a process of getting to know Jesus as much as possible through His Word because I want to know the One I will be spending an eternity with. I may teach kids at church but I need to reach and volunteer out in the community more. I may pray for people in the comfort and safety of my own home but I really need to go pray with them. See, until that day comes I need to keep working and studying for Jesus.

 

My children, and many across the great state of Iowa, have been dreaming of a day just like today. What are you dreaming of? What are you waiting for? Are you waiting for a raise or a pink slip? Are you waiting for a husband or a wife? Are you waiting for your kids to get past the stage where they totally grate on your nerves? Are you waiting for your hero to come from the war? Are you waiting for Christmas so you can give the gifts you got for everyone or open the ones others got for you? One of the things I desire more than anything is for Jesus to come! A part of me wants to pause at that though but honestly, nothing I, or my family, could experience could possibly compare to finally realizing that beautiful day….even though my brain wants me to picture everything we would miss a little too long. Lord Jesus, I pray that you come grab us today but if it is not time yet I pray that you let us know what we need to get everything ready so that you can. Amen.

 

“Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever. So encourage one another and build each other up, just as you are already doing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:9-11)

From a Different Angle

“Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection and take delight in honoring each other.” (Romans 12:9-10)

 

Last night I was standing in the driveway and watching the snow fall down. There are times when the snow looks like glitter falling down in the night sky with the way the light reflects off of the snow. Last night I didn’t see any glitter. I was really disappointed. However, if I walked around the driveway a little bit and changed my view I could see some faint sparkling but not nearly as much as I have seen in the past….but it was still there.

 

Then I started thinking about when we look at the people in our life. There are a lot of times when it’s hard to see where God has polished each other. Once we see someone in a certain light and form an opinion it’s hard to even realize you can move around and switch your perspective. But if you take the time to change your position around a little bit you may be amazed at what you might find out about the people in your life and how God is chiseling away at them day by day.

 

Think of all the ways that God has transformed you. I know I hope that people can see how God has changed me but they won’t until they try to look at me differently. I want to encourage you to look at everything differently; the people in your life, your family, your neighborhood, your church family and community, and even the weather. Try to see what God sees because you know if He can find the beauty in everything it’s there for you to see too.

 

“Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!” (Romans 12:16)